Stocks to Watch: i2 Technologies Will Purchase Aspect Development
i2 Technologies
(ITWO)
is buying
Aspect Development
(ASDV)
for $9.3 billion.
Tribune
(TRB)
is buying
Times Mirror
(TMC)
. Tribune is the publisher of the
Chicago Tribune
, and also owns numerous television stations in addition to the
Chicago Cubs
Major League Baseball
TheStreet Recommends
franchise. Times Mirror is publisher of the
Los Angeles Times
and
Newsday
. Following completion of the deal, Tribune Company will have 11 daily newspapers, 22 television stations and four radio stations.
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
Six big Wall Street firms and
Communicator
announced the creation of
Securities.Hub
, an e-commerce concern that will host a series of online marketplaces linking firms with institutional investors.
Goldman Sachs
(GS) - Get Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Report
,
J.P. Morgan
(JPM) - Get JPMorgan Chase & Co. Report
,
Lehman Brothers
(LEH)
,
Merrill Lynch
(MER)
,
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
(MWD)
and
Citigroup's
(C) - Get Citigroup Inc. Report
Salomon Smith Barney
will own a majority interest in the business. Communicator will provide the infrastructure and operate the business and have a minority interest.
CoreComm Limited
(COMM) - Get CommScope Holding Co., Inc. Report
is buying
Voyager.net
(VOYN)
for about $540 million in cash and stock.
E*Trade
(EGRP)
is buying
Card Capture Services
, the largest independent network of centrally managed automated teller machines in the U.S. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
General Motors
(GM) - Get General Motors Company Report
and Italy's
Fiat
are reportedly close to reaching an alliance, according to published reports. The U.S. auto maker could take a 20% stake in the Italian group's car unit as part of an industrial partnership. Meanwhile,
DaimlerChrysler
(DCX)
is seeking to break up the discussions and entice Fiat away from its American rival with a separate offer. According to
The Wall Street Journal
, Fiat is also considering making a bid for Swedish truck maker
Volvo
(VOLVY)
if the
European Commission
blocks Volvo's plans to buy rival
Scania
(SCV.A)
.
IBM
(IBM) - Get International Business Machines Corporation Report
said it is teaming up with
Cisco
(CSCO) - Get Cisco Systems, Inc. Report
,
Ericsson
(ERICY)
,
Intel
(INTC) - Get Intel Corporation Report
,
Motorola
(MOT)
,
Nokia
,
Palm
(PALM)
,
Symbian
and others to supply products and services to bring e-business applications to wireless devices
L-3 Communications
(LLL) - Get JX Luxventure Limited Report
is buying the
Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System
product line from
Honeywell
(HON) - Get Honeywell International Inc. Report
for $255 million.
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Microsoft Corporation Report
and
Andersen Consulting
agreed to a $1 billion pact to form a joint venture called
Avenade
, a technology services firm that will employ 5,000 and contribute to building Internet businesses using Microsoft software.
Radio One
(ROIA)
said it will buy 12 stations from
Clear Channel
(CCU) - Get Cia Cervecerias Unidas SA Report
for $1.3 billion, and 3 stations from
Shirk
for $40 million. Radio One will also buy
Davis Broadcasting
for $24 million.
Texas Utilities
(TXU)
said it was launching an offer for Spanish utility
Hydroelectrica del Cantabrico
for 21.25 euros (US$20.60) a share, or 2.4 billion euros.
Tommy Hilfiger
(TOM)
is believed to be in talks to buy all or part of privately owned
Calvin Klein
,
The Sunday Telegraph
in London reported. Calvin Klein could be valued at $1 billion, the newspaper said.
Offerings and stock actions
Applied Micro Circuits
(AMCC)
said its board set a 2-for-1 stock split.
Celgene
(CELG) - Get Celgene Corporation Report
said its board set a 3-for-1 stock split.
Commerce One's
(CMRC)
board approved a 2-for-1 stock split.
Datalink.net
(DLK)
set a 2-for-1 stock split.
Luxottica
(LUX)
said it plans a 2-for-1 stock split and will apply for a listing on the
Milan Stock Exchange
by the end of 2000.
Analyst actions
Credit Suisse First Boston
cut its rating on
Chiron
(CHIR) - Get Global X MSCI China Real Estate ETF Report
to buy from strong buy.
Donaldson Lufkin Jenrette
added
Compaq
(CPQ)
to its value list.
Banc of America Securities
and
Bear Stearns
upgraded
Dell
(DELL) - Get Dell Technologies Inc Class C Report
. Banc of America upgraded Dell to strong buy from buy. Bear Stearns upgraded Dell to buy from attractive.
Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown
started coverage of
Diversa
(DVSA)
with a buy rating and a 157 price target.
Thomas Weisel
analyst Doug van Dorsten started coverage of
Eloquent
(ELOQ)
with a buy rating and a 12-month price target of 60.
J.P. Morgan
set a 12-month price target for
FleetBoston Financial
undefined
at 38.
Robertson Stephens
upgraded
Intel
(INTC) - Get Intel Corporation Report
to strong buy from buy.
Alex. Brown
upgraded
Knight/Trimark
(NITE)
to strong buy from buy.
DLJ said it raised
Kohl's
(KSS) - Get Kohl's Corporation Report
to buy from market performer.
SG Cowen
said it started coverage of
Landacorp
(LCOR)
as a strong buy.
Thomas Weisel analyst Keith Gay initiated coverage on
VarsityBooks.com
(VSTY)
with a buy rating.
Miscellany
Aetna
(AET)
said it planned to separate its finance and health care businesses "as soon as an orderly separation can be achieved." The company also plans to sell off international assets that do not fit the strategy of either resulting company. Meanwhile,
Warburg Dillon Read
cut its rating on Aetna to reduce from hold.
Excite@Home
(ATHM) - Get Autohome Inc. Report
said it will launch an online service aimed at high-speed users.
The Heard on the Street column in the
Journal
says biotech stocks are acting like Internet stocks, driving the biotech industry's market capitalization, up 50% to $600 billion in just two months time. The story speculates that some biotech companies now have the capacity to swallow up old-line pharmaceuticals companies, though it adds no imminent deals are on the horizon.
For analysis of the market's preopen tone and trends, see the Wake-Up Call, published separately.
