CIBC World Markets Israel says that Alvarion Ltd. (Nasdaq: ALVR; TASE: ALVR) is one of its “favorites”. The investment bank says, “We believe that Alvarion’s technological leadership, together with the ambition of the large communications equipment companies to enter the WiMAX market, puts the company is a good position for acquisition.’
RBC Israel analyst Daniel Meron told “Globes” that WiMAX was expanding rapidly, and that most large communications equipment companies wanted a piece of the action. “Motorola has already acquired a WiMAX company, which is why I doubt that it will write a check out to Alvarion. Samsung has its technology, and Ericsson has already declared that it’s not in the WiMAX game. The remaining candidates are Alcatel-Lucent, Nortel Networks, and Nokia-Siemens Networks”
Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO), which collaborates with Alvarion, has been mentioned in the past as a possible buyer of the company.
Meron says that the likelihood of an acquisition of Alvarion have grown in recent months because the market is on the verge of a breakthrough. “The question is whether someone wants to enter the market now, or wait first for the breakthrough,” he says. He believes that a private communications equipment maker is unlikely to buy Alvarion, because Alvarion is larger than they are. It is possible that in this case, Alvarion could be the buyer.
“Globes”: What about private equity funds?
Meron: “It’s rare for funds to buy a company that’s on the verge of a breakthrough. They usually buy companies with a large, but stable, existing market. I don’t think that Alvarion is a natural target for them.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on June 6, 2007
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