Cisco CEO Nets $38 Million in Stock Sale

John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, exercised options on 2 million shares of Cisco stock at $3.45 and sold them on 13-Nov-03 at an average price of $22.59. The transaction netted him over $38 million.
http://www.cisco.com

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Tellabs Outsources International Manufacturing

Tellabs will outsource the manufacturing of its international products and transfer ownership of its Espoo, Finland, manufacturing operations to Elcoteq Network Corporation. The company also announced plans to trim its international R&D spending. Approximately 300 employees will be affected by the outsourcing and the R&D alignment. Tellabs said it will continue to focus on enhancing its IP/MPLS and next-generation SDH data capabilities.
http://www.tellabs.com

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Zhone Announces Staff Reduction Following Merger

Following the completion of its merger with Tellium, Zhone Technologies began trading on NASDAQ under the symbol ZHNE. In addition the company announced a headcount reduction of approximately 125 people affecting predominantly Oceanport, New Jersey based personnel (Tellium). The remaining Oceanport staff will continue current engineering efforts including development and support of the metro optical products.
http://www.zhone.com

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Carrier Access to Acquire Paragon Networks

Carrier Access Corporation agreed to acquire Paragon Networks, a start-up developing wireless transport systems. Financial terms were not disclosed. Designed specifically for wireless service providers (WSP), Paragon Networks' suite of backhaul solutions enable the rapid deployment of voice and data services and provide a migration path to 3G. Paragon's products focus on end-to-end cell site access and hub site aggregation, providing port capacities from DS-0 through OC-3 and a full range of functionality including SONET / SDH Add-Drop Multiplexing, Digital Cross Connect, and IP routing capability. The company said it has shipped over 100,000 ports to date to some 175 service providers worldwide. Carrier Access, which offers a range of products designed to optimize bandwidth efficiency for multiple T1s, E1s and DS3s, said the acquisition would position it to become a leading provider of wireless transport solutions to mobile wireless operators worldwide.


Separately, Carrier Access Corporation filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed public offering of 6,000,000 shares of common stock.
http://www.carrieraccess.com/http://www.paragon-networks.com/

• Paragon Networks is based in Brookfield, Connecticut. The company is headed by Russ Hawkins, who joined Paragon in 1996 as the VP of Sales & Marketing, becoming Paragon's President & CEO in 1998. Prior to 1996, Mr. Hawkins was Director of Business Development with Lucent Technologies.



• In December 2001, Paragon Networks announced $12.5 million in Series D funding led by Stephens Group, Inc., and joined by Axiom Venture Partners, Connecticut Innovations, MSA Venture Partners and existing investors, including Granite Ventures (previously-H&Q Venture Associates), JK&B Capital and the Quantum Fund (part of the Soros Private Equity Partners).

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Qwest Acquires Assets from Touch America and 360networks

Qwest Communications will acquire network assets from Touch America and 360networks, enabling it to expand its national data network. Qwest recently won the right to offer long- distance data services to enterprise customers within its 14-state territory. Qwest said the assets from Touch America would allow it to support hundreds of Frame Relay and ATM customers. The assets from 360networks include fiber routes from Seattle to Billings, Montana.; from Billings, Montana to Denver; from Denver to Colorado Springs, Colorado.; and from Billings, Montana to Minneapolis. Financial terms were not disclosed. The agreements put an end to all outstanding disputes between Qwest and Touch America and 360networks regarding these assets. The deal is expected to close this year, pending bankruptcy court approval.
http://www.qwest.com

• In June 2003, Touch America and all is subsidiaries filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in bankruptcy court. The company has received a commitment for a Debtor-in-Possession credit facility for $5 million from WLR Recovery Fund II, LP, a fund managed by WL Ross & Co. Touch America is undertaking various cost cutting measures, including staff reductions, and said it is planning for the smooth continuation of its business. At this time, Touch America also announced the sale of its Private Line and Dedicated Internet businesses to 360networks for $28 million. The sale proceeds will be used to pay pre- and post-filing obligations. 360networks is also financially backed by WL Ross & Co.



• In June 2000, Touch America acquired Qwest's wholesale, private line and retail long-distance business in its regulated 14-state region.



• Touch America, which is based in Butte, Montana, resulted from the formation in 1983 of a telecommunications subsidiary of a diversified electric utility.



• In November 2002, 360networks emerged from bankruptcy protection with more than US$100 million of cash and US$215 million of bank debt (reduced from a pre-filing debt level of approximately US$2.7 billion). WL Ross & Co., a private equity firm, purchased debt securities that represent approximately 10% of the new equity in 360networks and 13% of its new bank debt. 360networks subsequently acquired Group Telecom, another Canadian service provider with 17 metro fiber networks. 360networks also acquired Dynegy's North American intercity network, which spanned about 16,000 route miles. The two acquisitions extended 360networks' optical mesh fiber network to 33,000 route miles (53,000 km) reaching 60 major cities in North America.

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Hanaro Telecom Reports First Profit, Subscriber Growth Stalls

Hanaro Telecom, one of Korea's largest broadband Internet access and local call service providers, reported its first quarterly profit and said that had overcome an immediate cash requirement issue by securing significant foreign investment. Hanaro will issue US$500 million in common shares to a consortium led by Newbridge Capital and American International Group, which will hold approximately 40% stake in Hanaro. Additionally, the consortium is also raising $600 million via a syndicated loan for the Company to assist in debt service.


For the quarter ending 30-Sep-03, Hanaro reported net income result of KRW 5.7 billion (US$ 5.0 million) and operating profit of KRW 42.2 billion. EBITDA jumped to a record high of KRW 151.3 billion with an EBITDA margin of 42.9%. The company attributed the improvement to an overall cost reduction of 4.9% quarter-on-quarter, mainly resulting from a substantial drop in marketing costs.


The total broadband subscriber base at the end of 3Q03 was 2,975,338, representing a slight increase of 0.4% from 2,963,514 at the end of 2Q03, reflecting the discontinuation of promotional initiatives.


In 3Q03, the proportion of subscribers for products such as VDSL, Pro, Mid and Lite were 4.8%, 16.2%, 4.1%, and 74.9%, respectively.
http://www.hanaro.com

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