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Wednesday, January 27, 1999
"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one." -- Elbert Hubbard
Warner-Lambert to Buy Agouron
Drug and healthcare products giant Warner-Lambert <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: WLA)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: WLA)") end if %> announced it will acquire Agouron Pharmaceuticals <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AGPH)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AGPH)") end if %> in an all-stock deal valued at roughly $2.1 billion. La Jolla, Calif.-based. Agouron specializes in drugs for the treatment of cancer, viral diseases, and diseases of the eye. The acquisition will markedly strengthen Warner-Lambert's new product pipeline and its research and development capabilities while significantly beefing up its offerings in areas such as anti-virals and oncology. Specifically, Warner-Lambert will acquire rights to the top-selling HIV protease inhibitor Viracept.
Under the agreement, Agouron shareholders will receive about $60 in Warner-Lambert shares for each Aguoron share. Warner-Lambert has placed a collar on the transaction, a range of 0.8108 to 0.93 of a Warner-Lambert share for each share of Agouron, or around $56 to $64, based on yesterday's close. The $60 price represents a 5.6% premium to Agouron's closing price yesterday of $56 13/16. Agouron shares rose $3 21/32, or nearly 7%, yesterday before trading was halted at just before 3:30 p.m. Eastern time.
If the merger were to be called off, under certain conditions, Warner-Lambert would have the option of purchasing up to 19.9% of Agouron's common stock. Agouron would also be required to pay a termination fee of at least $60 million.
Earnings to Go
Amazon.com <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMZN)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMZN)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: loss of $0.14 (before charges) vs. loss of $0.08 last year; estimate: loss of $0.18
AmeriSource Health <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AAS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AAS)") end if %> -- fiscal Q1 EPS: $0.73 vs. $0.60 last year; estimate: $0.72
Aspen Technology <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AZPN)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AZPN)") end if %> -- fiscal Q2 EPS: $0.02 vs. $0.28 last year; estimate: loss of $0.02
Bell Atlantic <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BEL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BEL)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: $0.69 (before charges) vs. $0.62 last year; estimate: $0.69
Broadcom Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BRCM)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BRCM)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: $0.26 vs. $0.06 last year; estimate: $0.18
Cadence Design Systems <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CDN)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CDN)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: $0.36 vs. $0.29 last year; estimate: $0.35
CheckFree Holdings <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CKFR)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CKFR)") end if %> -- fiscal Q2 EPS: breakeven (before charges) vs. loss of $0.02 last year; estimate: breakeven
Compaq Computer <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CPQ)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CPQ)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: $0.43 vs. $0.42 last year; estimate: $0.37
Computer Sciences <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CSC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CSC)") end if %> -- fiscal Q3 EPS: $0.54 vs. $0.44 last year; estimate: $0.54
Cyberonics Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CYBX)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CYBX)") end if %> -- fiscal Q2 EPS: loss of $0.22 vs. loss of $0.15 last year; estimate: loss of $0.22
eBay <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: EBAY)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: EBAY)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: $0.07 (before charges) vs. $0.01 last year; estimate: $0.04
Egghead.com <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: EGGS)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: EGGS)") end if %> -- fiscal Q3 EPS: loss of $0.36 (from operations) vs. loss of $0.29 last year
Komag Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: KMAG)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: KMAG)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: loss of $0.35 vs. profit of $0.02 last year; estimate: loss of $0.40
RealNetworks <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: RNWK)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: RNWK)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: loss of $0.02 (pro forma) vs. loss of $0.09 last year; estimate: loss of $0.04
Splash Technology Holdings <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SPLH)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SPLH)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: $0.14 vs. $0.29 last year; estimate: $0.10
Steris Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: STE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: STE)") end if %> -- fiscal Q3 EPS: $0.33 vs. $0.26 last year; estimate: $0.32
3Dfx Interactive <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: TDFX)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: TDFX)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: $0.13 vs. $0.15 last year; estimate: $0.05
Tupperware <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: TUP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: TUP)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: $0.64 vs. $0.76 last year; estimate: $0.59
Walt Disney Co. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DIS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DIS)") end if %> -- fiscal Q1 EPS: $0.23 (before gain) vs. $0.37 last year; estimate: $0.24
The Washington Post Co. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: WPO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: WPO)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: $6.30 vs. $5.93 last year; estimate: $6.63
Whirlpool Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: WHR)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: WHR)") end if %> -- Q4 EPS: $1.09 vs. $0.85 last year; estimate: $1.08
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Yi-Hsin Chang (TMF Puck), Writer
Jennifer Silber (TMF Amused), Editor