Belden acquired Trapeze Networks

St. Louis - Belden – June 6, 2008 – (NYSE:BDC) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Trapeze Networks, a leading provider of wireless local area networking (WLAN) equipment and management software, for $133 million in cash. The acquisition builds on Belden's market-leading position as a complete signal transmission solutions provider by adding a recognized leader in the wireless LAN market.

Wireless extends the reach of Belden's physical-layer cable and connectivity products and enables the company to address the growing mobility needs of customers. "Belden's strategic vision is to provide the best signal transmission solutions to our customers regardless of technology," said John Stroup, President and Chief Executive Officer of Belden. "We believe the acquisition of Trapeze Networks uniquely positions Belden to offer our enterprise customers tailored connectivity solutions that benefit from blending the strengths of copper, fiber and wireless technologies. Trapeze Networks Smart Mobile wireless LAN solutions deliver superior performance, security, reliability and management capabilities, making this a highly attractive wireless investment for Belden's future. The acquisition will make Belden the world's largest unified wired and wireless solutions provider and will provide expanded market access for Trapeze Networks' Smart Mobile solutions.

"We believe we are at an inflection point in enterprise wireless LAN expansion, a market that is already growing nearly 25 percent per year, and that wireless connectivity is no longer considered a luxury but is a customer expectation," added Mr. Stroup.

Trapeze Networks, a privately held company based in Pleasanton, California, with 2007 revenues of $56 million, sells its products into healthcare, education, manufacturing, retail, government and other enterprise verticals through OEMs and distribution channels. The Trapeze product portfolio is an end-to-end WLAN system built on a highly scalable and secure wireless operating system running on Trapeze Networks access points and controllers and features the industry's most robust management software capabilities. More than 4,000 organizations around the world have deployed Trapeze wireless platforms.

Jim Vogt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Trapeze, said, "During the past six years, enterprise customers around the world have invested in Trapeze Networks Smart Mobile because they can depend on it for constant connectivity and reliable mobility. The superior performance and cost benefits of our highly acclaimed wireless LAN products have fueled our global growth through distribution and through our OEM relationships with 3Com, Enterasys, Nortel and other large networking companies. Our customers can now be assured of continued product innovation and new capabilities from the combined resources of Belden and Trapeze."

Impact on Belden's Outlook

Because Trapeze Networks sells software as well as hardware and services, the company is required under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States to defer and amortize certain revenues over the lives of contracts until it can establish vendor-specific objective evidence of the fair market value of each separate deliverable. The majority of Trapeze Networks' revenue is deferred and is typically amortized over periods of a year or more. This accounting treatment makes the acquisition more dilutive to Belden's expected earnings in 2008 and 2009 than would otherwise be the case.

John Stroup said, "The acquisition of Trapeze Networks furthers our strategy, and we expect that it will provide a return on invested capital for Belden consistent with or better than that of our successful 2007 acquisitions. We expect that the total dilutive impact of revenue deferral and amortization for 6 months in 2008 to be $0.15 to $0.20 and in 2009 $0.25 to $0.30. Despite this impact, we expect the transaction to be neutral in operating cash flow in 2008 and a positive contributor to operating cash flow in 2009 and beyond.

"The expected dilution from the Trapeze acquisition, including the impact of revenue deferral and the recurring amortization of intangible assets resulting from the purchase, but excluding short-term, nonrecurring amortization, will be in the range of $0.27 to $0.32 in 2008 and $0.25 to $0.30 in 2009," said Mr. Stroup. "We expect that the acquisition will be accretive on a GAAP basis in 2010 and beyond.

"Our outlook for 2008 remains unchanged except for the expected effects of the planned acquisition. Because of the mid-year timing of the closing of this transaction and the deferral of Trapeze Networks' revenue, our expectations for consolidated revenue remain in the range of $2.2 to $2.3 billion. We expect our operating margin to be in the range of 11 to 12 percent, and we are adjusting our expectation for 2008 earnings per diluted share to the range of $3.15 to $3.35."

WWDC08

The groundbreaking innovations of Mac OS X Leopard and iPhone OS offer two revolutionary development platforms for developers and IT professionals. Immerse yourself with information-rich sessions where Apple engineers go in-depth on the innovative technologies that power the features of these sophisticated platforms. Bring your code to the Labs and work one-to-one with Apple engineers, applying development methods and best-practices you gain from sessions to enhance your application.

From June 9 - 13, WWDC will host the best of the Apple developer universe — with attendees representing all corners of the globe. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to experience a community atmosphere filled with your industry peers.

Apple confirmed that its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), held 9-13 June 2008 in San Francisco, has sold out for the first time in the history of the event.

3G iPhone will be launched at WWDC08 after several months of secrecy.

Apple is likely to release its new 3G iPhone and announce a new software platform for the phone when CEO Steve Jobs takes the stage at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday.

The new iPhone will feature GPS (Global Positioning System) services and a thinner form factor, according to Shaw Wu, an analyst at American Technology Research. The new iPhone will also have thinner casing and an improved virtual keyboard with like multi-touch technology, Wu wrote.

Pricing for the 3G iPhone may be £25 to £50 cheaper than the current iPhone, Wu wrote.

Anti-trust investigation against Intel

The US Federal Trade Commission is launching an anti-trust investigation into Intel, the chip manufacturing giant.

Intel said the FTC served a subpoena on the company last week, and it pledged to co-operate with the regulator to provide any required information, as it has since 2006, when the FTC began an informal inquiry.

"The company believes its business practices are well within US law," Intel said in its statement. "The evidence that this industry is fiercely competitive and working is compelling."

Prices for microprocessors declined by more than 42 percent between 2000 and 2007, Intel noted.

An FTC spokesman said he could confirm the investigation but couldn't give more details.

The FTC investigation comes a day after the Korea Fair Trade Commission fined Intel a reported 26 billion won (£13 million) for abusing its dominant position in the microprocessor market. Intel offered rebates to South Korean computer makers in a way that unfairly harmed its rival Advanced Micro Devices, the Korean agency said.

In January, New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo launched an antitrust investigation of Intel.

Japan and the European Commission have also investigated Intel, and AMD has a pending civil lawsuit against the company.

The Fair Trade Commission of Japan (JFTC) in 2005 recommended that Intel end its practice of offering funds to PC makers in exchange for a commitment not to use processors from its competitors. Intel accepted those recommendations, which came after a lengthy JFTC investigation, saying at the time it wanted to avoid a protracted legal battle.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), a trade group with AMD as a member, praised the FTC for opening the investigation.

The FTC investigation is "long due," said Ed Black, CCIA's president and CEO. After investigations by South Korea, Japan, and the European Commission, it was time for the US government to act, Black said.

Intel has a strong set of products, Black added. "They should not have to abuse their power and break the law in order to be successful," he added.

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CERF 2008 Girls

The 17th edition of Computers and Electronics Romanian Fair (CERF) will take place between 7-11 May. There are 130 companies, 600 brands, 1500sqm of exibition and more than 60000 visitors expected. I visited it yesterday.
I saw a lot of girls interested in IT&C too:

ROMCONTROLA Bucharest 2008

Today was the end of the international exhibition ROMCONTROLA 2008. I visited it on Wednesday.

The main fields which were presented are: industrial and lab equipment, data acquisition and processing systems, industrial computers, software applications, communication systems, programmable automatic equipment, regulators, triggers and industrial robots, surveillance systems, sensors, components and systems.

Starting with this edition, ROMCONTROLA was parted in 2 main sections: Lab instruments and Measuring and control apparata - Automations.

The last edition, ROMCONTROLA gather 113 exhibitors from Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany and Romania, on a total area of 7000 sqm.

In the same period with ROMCONTROLA were organized another exhibitions: ROMENVIROTEC-SEP dedicated to the protection of the environment, EXPO RENEW ENERGY - dedicated of renewable technology and EXPO SECURITY - dedicated of security equipment and systems.

All these events will bring forward the latest technological and the newast products, giving at the same time a good opportunity to make busines and experience exchange.

I'll put some photos from these exhibitions in my later posts.

The official website: ROMCONTROLA