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

To: kha vu who wrote (490)	5/26/1999 7:22:00 PM
From: moebo	Respond to of 531

Here's an updated version from Bloomberg. quote.bloomberg.com Omnipoint Says It's Talking With Strategic Investor (Update1) Omnipoint Says It's Talking With Strategic Investor (Update1) (Adds analyst comments, background beginning in 3rd paragraph.) New York, May 26 (Bloomberg) -- Omnipoint Corp., which provides wireless phone services in the Midwest and on the East Coast, is close to receiving an investment from a strategic partner to help pay off debt, acting Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Harry Plonskier said. Omnipoint Chairman and Chief Executive Douglas Smith canceled an appearance at a Banc of America Securities conference in New York today because he's in the midst of negotiations, said Plonskier, who filled in for Smith. Analysts and investors have long speculated a larger phone company with deep pockets could buy Omnipoint and other U.S. wireless companies that use the global system for mobile communications, or GSM, digital standard. The combination would create a nationwide network to compete with other coast-to-coast providers AT&T Corp., Sprint PCS and Nextel Communications Inc. ''I think we're going to see a near-nationwide GSM player,'' said Christopher Larsen, an analyst at Prudential Securities Inc., who rates Omnipoint ''strong buy.'' ''That's very likely.'' An Omnipoint spokesman declined to comment on any pending investments. The upstart company, which is building new wireless networks, has been looking for strategic investors for about a year and in March said it was negotiating with several companies that submitted written proposals. Omnipoint shares have risen about 90 percent this year. They rose 1 5/16 to 17 5/8 today, touching 18 1/4 in the last half hour of trading, after Smith canceled at the conference. Other regional U.S. GSM providers include VoiceStream Wireless Corp., Aerial Communications Inc. and PowerTel Inc. GSM, the world's most-popular digital-wireless standard, is used primarily in Europe and competes with time-division multiple access, or TDMA, used by AT&T and code-division multiple access, CDMA, used by Sprint PCS. A potential consolidator could be Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., which owns phone systems around the world, and already holds a 24 percent stake in VoiceStream, analysts said. Finland's Sonera Group Oyj may also be interested, they said. Bethesda, Maryland-based Omnipoint's annual meeting of shareholders is scheduled to be held tomorrow.