| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : MAY 24, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| COVER STORY
Inside Wall Street: Bidding for 3COM? One stock that has so far been left out in the cold in the midst of the high-tech sector's red-hot rush is 3Com COMS, second only to Cisco Systems as a manufacturer of data networking products. The stock has skidded from 51 on Dec. 23, 1998, to 27 on May 11. One problem was that its attempt to compete head-on with Cisco by acquiring U.S. Robotics in 1997 didn't quite work out. Another drag on the stock: 3Com has become a takeover target ''favorite,'' and the crowd of impatient momentum players have fled the stock each time that a hoped-for acquisition failed to materialize. But guess what? Instead of dying away, the 3Com takeover flame has reignited, again. One pro who believes 3Com is finally buyout-bound is Mike Murphy, editor of the California Technology Stock Letter. ''We think 3Com will be taken over at 40 to 50 a share by yearend, or sooner,'' predicts Murphy, who thinks the depressed stock is a steal, with a price-earnings ratio of just 25. The buzz in Silicon Valley, he says, is that Swedish phone giant Ericsson is talking to 3Com about a buyout. But Murphy says others are interested, too--including Lucent Technologies. He expects that, once Ericsson makes a bid, Lucent is apt to top its bid. ''There is no shortage of buyers,'' says Murphy, ''but there's only one major full-line datacom company left for them to buy: 3Com.'' Lucent spokesman Jeff Baum declined comment as a matter of policy. A 3Com spokeswoman said it was not the company's strategy to be acquired. Ericsson didn't return calls. BY GENE G. MARCIAL _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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 Your Guide to Online Investing COVER IMAGE: Our Guide to Online Investing CHART: The Biggest Online Brokers TABLE: Broker Scoreboards TABLE: Online Brokers That Meet Your Needs Gotta Do the Legwork ``A Diversity of Thought'' Testing the Waters Commentary: Why Old-Line Firms Need New Online Tricks TABLE: Full-Service Dream The Right Tools for the Right Trades Street.Cop TABLE: Smart Investing on the Web TABLE: Web Resources for Online Investors Rocket Science Made Simple TABLE: Quant for a Day How to Seal a Great Bond Deal TABLE: Where to Buy...And Get Info What to Read: The Good, the Bad, and the Terrible TABLE: Wired-Up Investing Books Investor Beware of Web Talk TABLE: Separating Fact from Fiction TABLE: Cross Checkers Smells Fishy? Tell the SEC This EDGAR Is a Real Know-It-All TABLE: Searching the SEC Commentary: Analyst Calls: Let Investors Listen TABLE: Calling All Netizens The Barker Portfolio: A Battle Plan for Accidental Investors Inside Wall Street: Wells Fargo Online CHART: The Rise Trails Other Banks Inside Wall Street: Bidding for 3COM? CHART: Prior Takeovers Fizzled Out Inside Wall Street: A TV-To-Net Linkup CHART: ACTV's Rise Is Due to E-Commerce INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
