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In the papers 20 May
Monday, May 20 2002
by Ralph Averbuch


WorldCom secures USD1.5 billion financing programme | AIB and Bank of Ireland may
be in talks to merge IT operations



The Irish Examiner carries a story about Microsoft's current antitrust case in
the US. The paper reports that US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said
lawyers for Microsoft should make sure their client complies with any order that
she issues regarding a remedy for the company's violations of US antitrust law.
The comments came at the close of three days of questioning from Kollar-Kotelly
on several motions filed by the company before she listens to closing arguments
on 19 June.



The Irish Independent reports that ICT Ireland, the IBEC body meant to look out
for the interests of the Irish IT sector, has asked the new government to promise
to keep the low corporation tax levels currently in force. Read the full story on
ElectricNews.Net's 
Business section.



The FT reports that WorldCom, the debt-ridden global telecoms player, has made
progress in locking in long-term financing, hopefully quelling fears that it is
facing a liquidity crisis. It has reached agreement with its banks on a revised
USD1.5 billion financing programme. WorldCom's finances were in doubt when it cut
revenue forecasts last month, causing concern it would have to borrow more money
next year to meet debt repayments.



The paper also reports that Network Associates, the computer security group,
plans to restate the last three years of profit and loss statements and balance
sheets following an internal investigation into accounting methods.



The Wall Street Journal reports that Lucasfilms says it is going to make
videogame versions of its coming on-line PC game, called Star Wars Galaxies, for
Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation 2. The deal gives Lucasfilm an
opportunity to reach a wider audience for the title, which is set for release on
PC platforms this December.



The paper also reports that a group of ex-Dell managers has formed a company to
market a new kind of ultraportable PC combining wireless networking and
handwriting recognition. Motion Computing Inc., next month plans to show a first
design, based on Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet PC operating software. The company
will compete against similar devices from Acer, Fujitsu and Hewlett-Packard.



The Guardian reports that researchers are exploring the possible effect gay
Internet chatrooms might have towards high-risk sexual activity among gay and
bisexual men. Health advisers want to determine whether the increasing
opportunities to use the Web, rather than cruise gay bars and gyms, could be
encouraging some men into sexual behaviour more likely to lead to the
transmission of STDs. 



The Sunday Business Post reports that a senior source inside AIB claims the bank
is in talks with the Bank of Ireland to merge IT operations. Reports focus on how
the two institutions can merge some elements of their hardware and software
development in a bid to drive down costs. 



The paper also reports that lots of Irish technology companies are over-valued.
The paper describes how ratings agency Standard & Poor's sees dozens of companies
that are employing many thousands which are currently "massively overvalued."
Additionally, they are not providing attainable earnings figures. The key issue
centres around company share options. According to one of S&P's own examples, the
network equipment maker Cisco should have reported a net loss of USD0.35 per
share in 2001, if taking account of stock options. However, by ignoring these
items, Cisco was able to report a loss of just USD0.14 per share. 



The Sunday Business Post also reports that Aircraft Management Technologies
(AMT), a Dublin software firm, has raised EUR5 million in second round funding.
The new round was led by the UK venture capital firm Pentech Ventures. Other
investors included Enterprise Ireland and private clients of Davy Stockbrokers.
Davy Corporate Finance was appointed by AMT to advise on the round last year. AMT
has won over EUR3 million of business for its eTechlog software which allows
airline crews to create an electronic version of existing paper documentation
normally needed on commercial flights. 



The Sunday Business Post also reports on a research report from Merrion
Stockbrokers that warns investors about placing funds with troubled e-security
outfit Baltimore and the directory enquiries company Conduit. The report, called
"Value Opportunities in Irish Tech," says both companies are best left out of
portfolios, "on the basis of management execution risk and lack of clear
value." 



The Sunday Times says that Crescent Capital, a Belfast-based venture capital
company, is developing a fund of around STG20 million, which it will invest at
between STG500,000 and STG1 million in high-technology spin-offs. The money is
mainly intended for Ulster's universities. Aidan Langan, Crescent's investment
manager, told the paper, "We are seeing more and more opportunities coming from
university spin-off companies."