TiMetra for Sale?

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Peter Heywood 12/5/2012 | 12:03:48 AM

re: TiMetra for Sale? Good rant!

So, Laurel must be the startup to buy, eh, particularly now they're getting a bit of a BRAS story?

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MPLS guy 12/5/2012 | 12:03:46 AM

re: TiMetra for Sale? We've worked with their upper management people, namely their CEO and VP of Hardware Developement and found them to be the real deal.
Product wise, we recently completed a pilot VLAN pilot with them and found their equipment to be sound.
Don't know if their product is ready for real-time delivery as our VLAN application, along with their routers, are all in the lab, but all went well.
Whenever these things happen, it's alwasy wise to look at the management team. Some people put together companies to grab some $$$ and some companies get put together to make a difference. TiMetra pressed the MPLS envelope (Don't forget, one of the Kompela brothers works there). With the exception of VC funding, they really knew their stuff.

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Stbl 12/5/2012 | 12:03:46 AM

re: TiMetra for Sale?
Recent post from Holy Grail:

> This deal (if true?) makes perfect sense, and
> it puts both Laurel and Marconi is a strong
> position to kick some more Cisco and Juniper
> ass, the writing is on the wall guys, Level(3)
> was just the beginning.
>
> Go Laurel!

Think maybe Holy Grail is affiliated with Laurel? Hmmm...

Some advice, when trying to appear to be an objective party it may make sense to avoid obviously laughable statements like "...Marconi is a strong position to kick some more Cisco and Juniper ass." Or better yet "Any of the large players looking to move into the IP space and go up against Cisco and Juniper should look at Avici in the core space..."

These statements may lead to an unrecoverable loss of credibility.

Just trying to help ;-)

Stbl

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skeptic 12/5/2012 | 12:03:45 AM

re: TiMetra for Sale? Any of the large players looking to move into the IP space and go up against Cisco and Juniper should look at Avici in the core space, they are deployed for quite a while in AT&T core, and Laurel also deployed by Level(3), both have next gen architectures, both have proven that they know what they are doing and with a big brother both could give Cisco and Juniper a major headache.
=====================

Anyone with sense will stay far away from Avici.
Avici has an aging architecture that was never
very good to begin with and those who actually
worked with that thing will tell you that just
getting deployed is no guarentee of quality.
Its more like an assurance of minimum stability.
Yes, they got into ATT, but Avici is more famous
for where they didn't get into. And a place
where they had a contract that never went
anywhere.

The other problem with Avici is that they seem
to focus on hiring people with bad attitudes
who don't play well with others.

Anyone foolish enough to buy Avici is in for
a serious headache.

As far as Laurel goes, there isn't anything
particularly next-generation about their system.
Its another edge router in a very crowded field
of edge routers.

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LTTSUF 12/5/2012 | 12:03:45 AM

re: TiMetra for Sale? Peter,

still trying to justify that #1 ranking for Laurel;) It seems to me that a hot private company is one that is ultimately validated by the real dollars spent for that technology. If the TiMetra take out is true, then that should provide them with a higher ranking. Wouldn't you agree? Six boxes deployed at Level 3 does not make a company.

LTTSUF

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grateful photon 12/5/2012 | 12:03:44 AM

re: TiMetra for Sale? A few facts:

* Timetra has a solid HW and SW router with numerous successful trials, commercial traffic.
* Word from those who have tested the product is that it is a best of breed (density, scalability) BGP router with deep features.
* They did this all during the telecom nuclear winter with ~$25M of VC funding. Word on the street is that there was a second round with a partner but the details were never disclosed.
* They have never had a layoff.
* They rarely, if ever, press release. I donGÇÖt know what you could point to in the way of hype. Seems to me they let the gear do the talking.

A few opinions:

From the folks I have met there, this is a solid team that has executed a deliberate plan and navigated a hellish business climate. If a sale is coming, it merely validates the points made above. Whoever is courting these guys most likely wants the technology and the team that was able to build a promising product with a fraction of the money their competitors have spent trying to do the same.

grateful

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skeptic 12/5/2012 | 12:03:44 AM

re: TiMetra for Sale? * They rarely, if ever, press release. I don’t know what you could point to in the way of hype. Seems to me they let the gear do the talking.
-----------------

On the other side, since there is no public
information at all there is no way to validate
any of the claims made for or against them.
They talk about trails/revenue/product, but
I dont know of anyone who has actually seen
this thing deployed.

A company like alcatel is so easily fooled that
their interest isn't actually a confidence
building sign. And especially easy to fool
people like alcatel when there is no public
information.

It seems like we are making big strides toward
re-inflating the bubble. Its the same brainless
hype as before.

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grateful photon 12/5/2012 | 12:03:43 AM

re: TiMetra for Sale? now i'm confused....you shun the hype and in the next breath complain there's not enough 'public information.' just because you say it in a 10K or print it in an analyst report doesn't make it any less hype.

in stark contrast to the bubble daze, due diligence is back in vogue...with a vengeance. large companies are not buying very much, and when they do, you can be sure that the pressure to do their homework is very high.

think about it: the acquiring company stock is depressed, goodwill on the balance sheet is not taken lightly, and large public companies are answering to their shareholders on these transactions, unlike recent history. this means two things: lower purchase prices, and justified M&A.

public information is less important than the wide open kimono they are undoubtably going through with a nit comb.

grateful

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skeptic 12/5/2012 | 12:03:42 AM

re: TiMetra for Sale? now i'm confused....you shun the hype and in the next breath complain there's not enough 'public information.' just because you say it in a 10K or print it in an analyst report doesn't make it any less hype.
-----------------------
The difference between information and hype
is specifics. If you claim customer deployments
or revenue, but make no announcement of the
customer or the specifics, the claims are
worthless.

I've seen companies lie about the state of the
product all the time. I've seen companies lie
about having all sorts of customers when they
in truth have none. And I've seen companies
fool ignorant people (like alcatel) repeatedly.

And as far as due dilligence, I've yet to see
many deals between a totally quiet startup and a
big company work. These deals have a long history
of being scams and con-games. They depend
on the fact that there is no information or
opinion on the company available other than
what the company provides.

And as far as due dilligence goes, nothing has
changed except that its talked about more. Its
still the same ignorant people making the same
bad decisions.

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GR 12/5/2012 | 12:03:41 AM

re: TiMetra for Sale?
Word in the investment community is that, the
remaining few companies around, with even
"decent" technology will be picked up. Big
comapanies looking to expand their product line
would rather pick up these distressed companies
than develop stuff from scratch.

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