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To: Steve Reinhardt who wrote (39085)	3/1/1999 6:50:00 PM
From: J Fieb	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

PHG is interested in buying VLSI.............I wonder what Umesh thinks............ utch Philips Offers To Buy VLSI Technology By Duncan Martell PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Dutch conglomerate Philips Electronics NV early Friday made an unsolicited offer to buy Silicon Valley semiconductor maker VLSI Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:VLSI - news) for $776.9 million in cash, as it seeks to bolster its presence in the U.S. chip market. Philips, whose semiconductor business had 1998 revenue of about $3.56 billion, said it offered to pay $17 a share for all of VLSI's 45.7 million shares outstanding -- a premium of about 60 percent based on VLSI's closing stock price Thursday. A Philips spokesman called the offer a ''fair price,'' while officials from VLSI did not return telephone calls seeking comment on the bid. The proposed acquisition would add VLSI's chip business for the wireless industry -- which has Swedish cellular phone maker Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson Ericsson as its largest customer -- to Philips' own chip business. There is little, if any product overlap between the two companies, analysts said, adding that it would make sense for VLSI to be bought given its moribund stock price. ''They don't have the critical mass to operate on a stand-alone basis,'' said analyst Ashok Kumar at Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis. ''Either they have to find an alliance partner or get taken out.'' VLSI climbed $4.56 to $15.31 in midafternoon trading on the Nasdaq. The stock had been trading in a range of about $6 a share to about $13 a share since September, as stocks of other chipmakers such as Linear Technology Corp. (Nasdaq:LLTC - news) and Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC - news) have soared. San Jose, Calif.-based VLSI began as a maker of chipsets -- the boards in PCs that hold the guts of personal computers -- until Intel got into the business and forced VLSI to exit. It was no match for the world's largest chipmaker. VLSI then turned its sights to Apple Computer Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL - news) and began making chipsets for the maker of the Macintosh computers. But when Apple sputtered and sales plummeted, VLSI again was struggling. Its current focus on selling application specific-integrated circuits, or ASICs, is bearing fruit, analysts said, noting that perhaps even International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - news), STM Microelectronics or Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE:TXN - news) could emerge as rival bidders for the company. ''It's been highly speculated for several quarters that they were on the block; it was just a matter of time,'' said Hans Mosesmann, an analyst at Prudential Securities in Palo Alto, Calif. ''They have some products that will be useful for Philips in consumer applications.''

To: Steve Reinhardt who wrote (39085)	3/1/1999 7:31:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50808

Mid-year roll-out for US West(Divicom Partner)................... mediacentral.com 03-01-99 09:53 EST Headlines US West combines Internet,TV, phone service NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - U S WEST Inc. and Network Computer Inc. said on Monday they were joining forces to introduce U S WEST TV, which integrates telephone, television and Internet services. The service, powered by Network Computer technology, will enable customers to do e-mail, make phone calls and surf the Web and TV channels simultaneously, using high-speed dial-up connections on their televisions. U S WEST will test U S WEST TV in selected metropolitan areas at mid-year and begin launching the service throughout its 14-state region late this year. Customers will use a television set-top box equipped with a speakerphone and Network Computer software. In addition to access over conventional connections, U S WEST's advanced network will provide support for high-speed XDSL, VDSL and ADSL -- technologies that use existing copper-wire networks -- offering data transmission speeds up to 200 times faster than dial-up connections. "With U S WEST TV, households can enjoy the benefits of being connected without having to purchase a PC," said Eric Bozich, vice president-Internet and Applications. Network Computer is a privately held company founded in 1996. In New York Stock Exchange trading Friday, U S West shares closed at 53-5/16.