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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rudedog who wrote (45317)	1/26/1999 1:45:00 PM
From: Aitch	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Hi rude, Have you seen confirmation of this? I like the fact that CPQ shareholders get ownership in the new company. H

To: rudedog who wrote (45317)	1/26/1999 2:02:00 PM
From: Lynn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Earlier this morning one of my brothers called to tell me CPQ's web site was temporary down. He had discovered this when he tried to access the site to buy a PC and was unable to get in. Calling CPQ's direct order number, he was told the site would be made available shortly. A few minutes ago, out of curiosity, I got into CPQ's site. What I initially found interesting is that with all the talk on CNBC--and here, on the thread--about CPQ spinning-off AltaVista to its shareholders, the new section at the left, top reads: NEW Compaq creates the AltaVista company. Initial public offering planned. compaq.com An IPO is quite different than a spin-off. Checking the news under this is the announcement distributed earlier today that starts: Compaq Creates the AltaVista Company Extending Its Internet Leadership Position Company to Make AltaVista the Leading Internet Destination Site for Information and E-commerce HOUSTON, January 26, 1999 - Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) today announced the creation of the AltaVista Company, with the goal to make AltaVista the leading destination site for information and e-commerce on the Internet. The AltaVista Company, based in Palo Alto, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Compaq. Compaq officials also announced plans to establish AltaVista as a publicly traded company. [remainder of news item not included] This looks like the kind of announcement a company forced into make a public statement [because of leaks] makes, one they did not want to make because their plans were not finalized. All CPQ is saying in this news release is that AltaVista is going to become a publicly traded, separate from CPQ. The article does not say anything about how CPQ is going to do this. The words, "shareholder," "IPO," and "spin-off" are not used, even once, in the article. From my perspective, this is a good example of how leaks of partial knowledge can cause a lot of investor confusion--and a lot of corporate headaches. Lynn