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Technology Stocks : Plaintree (TSE:LAN,NASDAQ:LANPF) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ron logo who wrote (1466)	3/10/1999 2:46:00 PM
From: Bron-y-aur	Respond to of 1606

Wednesday, March 10, 1999 Licensing fee boosts Plaintree By SUSAN TAYLOR, Ottawa Sun Plaintree Systems Inc. got a $650,000 booster shot, but the company continues to run on life support until it finds an investor. The Stittsville firm announced yesterday it had struck an agreement with a global supplier of high-speed internetworking components for a one-time licensing fee. The licensing is for part of the intellectual property for the firm's workgroup switches. Chief executive Jay Richardson said the company had requested its name not be released. The transaction, following two to three weeks of discussions, will not lead to an investment in Plaintree by that company, Richardson added. The fee covers operations for about 30 days. "It is a help," Richardson said. "It contributes to our life expectancy." Analysts were uncertain which company was paying the licensing fee. "For $650,000, it literally could be anybody," said Gurinder Parhar, a telecommunications analyst with HSBC Securities. It could come from a company that suspects Plaintree will declare bankruptcy and wants a claim on its intellectual property, Parhar speculated. "Unless you have a claim on the IP, you can't get it." Richardson called that "idle speculation," adding the rights of the firm paying the licensing fee would not be affected by bankruptcy. Duncan Stewart, who manages the Navigator Canadian Technology Fund, was equally uncertain. "It could be about anyone," he said. "Obviously, they're getting technology for not a lot of money here." Plaintree said Jan. 14 it could close unless it found $5 million to $8 million in equity. Soon after, 50 staff were laid off to cut costs. Richardson is talking with "more than one" group, but won't speculate on the odds those discussions will end in investment. Plaintree shares dropped 1cents yesterday on the Toronto Stock Exchange to close at 23cents before the announcement was released. The share hit a 52-week high of $4.95, while its low was 11cents.