APPLE STOCK SINKS 4.9% AS SALE PRICE RUMORS FLY.Byline: Margaret D. Williams Bloomberg Business News Apple Computer Inc.'s stock fell Monday to its lowest in 18 months amid concern that the computer maker will be purchased at a discount to its market value. Apple's stock declined 1-1/2, or 4.9 percent, to 29-1/8, its lowest closing price since it sank to 28 on July 21, 1994. Earlier Monday, the stock traded as low as 28-3/4. The No. 3 computer maker received more bad news after the stock market closed. Standard & Poor's Corp. lowered its ratings on about $300 million in Apple debt, dropping its senior debt to "BB-" from "BBB BBB A medium grade assigned to a debt obligation by a rating agency to indicate an adequate ability to pay interest and repay principal. However, adverse developments are more likely to impair this ability than would be the case for bonds rated A and above. " and cutting Apple's commercial paper to "B" from "A-2." Apple isn't denying that it is negotiating with Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA[3]) is an American vendor of computers, computer components, computer software, and information-technology services, founded on 24 February 1982. Inc., a leading manufacturer of network computing systems The Network Computing System (NCS) was an implementation of the Network Computing Architecture. It was created at Apollo Computer in the 1980s. It comprised a set of tools for implementing distributed software applications, or distributed computing. . A story in Monday's Wall Street Journal, citing an unidentified Sun insider, said Sun's latest offer was in the "mid-20s." The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times last week reported that Sun offered $23 a share. "I would hope Apple would not accept a bid in the low 20s," said Marian Kessler, portfolio manager at Crabbe Huson Group, which owns about 1 million shares of Apple. "They would face a lot of shareholder lawsuits for anything not in the 40s." Apple's fourth-quarter book value was $23.60 a share. "People are clearly leaking leak v. leaked, leak·ing, leaks v.intr. 1. To permit the escape, entry, or passage of something through a breach or flaw: information that is not correct in order to manipulate manipulate To cause a security to sell at an artificial price. Although investment bankers are permitted to manipulate temporarily the stock they underwrite, most other forms of manipulation are illegal. the price," said Eric Schmidt, chief technology officer for Sun. "All Sun executives are under orders to say nothing." Sun's shares, which fell 10 percent last week when the negotiations were reported, rose 2 to 44-1/4 today. Sun's stock almost tripled in value in the past year. The companies should complete negotiations soon or risk damaging their day-to-day operations, some analysts and shareholders said. |
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