Silicon Graphics - Na also! - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[siba]

News

Silicon Graphics bestätigt Prognosen für viertes Quartal
Finanzen.net


Der US-Technologiekonzern Silicon Graphics Inc. hat am Donnerstag die bisherigen Prognosen für das abgelaufene vierte Fiskalquartal aufrecht erhalten.
Der Konzern aus Mountain View, Californien, erwartet nun Umsätze für das am 27. Juni zu Ende gegangene Quartal in Höhe von 238-242 Mio. Dollar. Die bisherige Prognose des Unternehmens lag bei 225-245 Mio. Dollar, die Prognose der Analysten bei 234 Mio. Dollar.

Der operative Verlust im vierten Quartal soll bei 38-42 Mio. Dollar liegen. Exklusive Abschreibungen und Sonderaufwendungen wird sich der Verlust bei 28-32 Mio. Dollar belaufen.

Na also - geht doch!!!
Damit sollte zumindest erst einmal Stabilität in den Kurs kommen. Die Absicherung nach unten wird damit zementiert - nach oben ist nun Luft.
siba

[lion37]

hi siba,
na ja ein knaller war diese pr von sgi
ja wohl nicht!?
hoffe nur fuer dich, daß bei der präsentation
der daten dann nicht noch eine leiche aus dem
keller geholt wird.
trotzdem viel glück!!

ich warte bezüglich eines einstieges
lieber mal ab bis die echten zahlen
auf dem tisch liegen, der kurs wird
schon nicht explodieren.(denke ich)

gruss
lion37

[m.a.x.]

ähhhh?

verstehe ich hier etwas falsch??? Die Zahlen sind doch ein absoluter Witz, die wirtschaften doch seit Jahren nur aus der Substanz und haben immer noch einen anteiligen Verust aus dem generierten Umsatz von 15 bis 20%. Bei der Wirtschaftslage ( in US keine Aufhellung) dauerts kein Jahr mehr und die gehen den Bach hinunter. Schaut mal in die Bilanz unter Cash und Equivalents, wenn der Posten unter 100 Mio geht, stehen sie kurz vor dem Aus.

Kann mir einer sagen, was man an der PR positiv sehen kann, würde ich schon gern wissen.

[lion37]

hi m.a.x.

kann dir nur zustimmen,
kann auch nichts positives aus der pr entnehmen,
jedoch ist man bei sgi gewohnt, dass es noch
mieser laeuft als angekündigt.
deshalb vielleicht:

siba ......na also !?

wenn`s jedoch so weiter laeuft wie bisher,
ist spätestens in einem jahr schluß.

es ist nun mal tatsache:
-SGI- verdient mit
seinem geschäft keinen einzigen ---cent---
und das nun schon seit zig quartalen,
die prognosen des managements sind für mich
nur augenwischereien!!!!!!


sgi sehe ich wie ne EIERUHR bei der gerade
die letzte minute durchrieselt, das war`s dann.



nochmals mein fazit, finger weg, sofern kein
eindeutiges
zeichen für einen echten turn-a-round.
(was ich schon fast für eine kleines wunder halten
würde)


gruss
L37

[bamseex]

deine informationen und ratschläge hinken
SGI ist ein high tech titel mit höchster chance
und zz geringem risiko
an dieser aktie kann man nur seit 4 jahren geld verdient haben
noch spez. fragen?
gruß

[siba]

Na also, geht doch - heute wieder 5%.
Damit kann ich gut leben. Da stören mich auch die Unkenrufe hier im Board nicht weiter. Ich ziehe meine SL nach und warte ab.
siba

[lion37]

@bamseex
hi,
deine behauptung...."an dieser aktie kann man seit -4-jahren nur geld verdient haben"

kann ich nicht so ganz nachvollziehen!!??

gruss
lion37

[lion37]

24.07.03 earnings
das ergebnis ist wie in den letzten quartalen:
enttaeuschend!!!!!!

....we need to cut costs usw. usw.
umsatz faellt,
verlust unveraendert hoch (bald ist die kasse leer)

die belegschaft wird um 10% reduziert.
(das wird bestimmt die motivation der restlichen
belegschaft enorm stärken!?)

mein fazit, diesen wert muss man nicht im depot
haben.

weiterhin,
viel glück!
L37 :

[xanda1]

im grunde muß ich euch recht geben.
sgi pfeift aus dem letzten loch.

ich hoffe nur, daß im bereich datenspeicherung
in zukunft neue umsätze dazukommen.

bei SGI ist es schon ein fortschritt wenn
das ergebnis nicht schlechter ist als
geplant. so gesehen hat sich die lage
immerhin verbessert. wenn in zukunft der umsatz
stabil bleibt und 400 leute weniger bezahlt
werden müssen, könnte sich vielleicht ein
ausgeglichenes ergebnis ausgehen.

[xanda1]

Rumour mill claims big layoffs afoot

By Eva Glass: Monday 28 July 2003, 07:27

SOURCES CLAIMED that SGI is holding an important meeting early this week which will likely result in a number of sea changes for the beleagured firm.

One of the expected changes is that SGI is to stop developing for anything but the Linux operating system in the near future.

And the same sources suggest that it`s entirely possible that as many as 25% of existing staff could see their jobs threatened because sales have proved far from bouyant over the last months.

http://finance.messages.yahoo.com/bbs?.mm=FN&action=m&board=…

[siba]

Aus dem gleichen Artikel:
As well as being an important Intel Itanium partner, SGI also has significant government business.

Mal sehen, was da wirklich rumkommt.
siba

[lion37]

hi siba,
schau mal bei yahoo im message-board
nach was die "alten Hasen" die wie ich
-sgi- seit jahren kennen über diese
presse-mitteilung meinen.
z.b. sgi-pr: complete joke!
oder: old news

.....stimmt die sog. sigifikanten abschluesse
sind alte abschluesse.
(die muessens aber nötig haben dies wieder zu
publizieren)

ich denke die luft ist raus

weiterhin viel spass mit sgi.....
gruss
lion37

[lion37]

schaut heute mies aus.......

kurs unter usd1.-- z.zt. USD 0,92
sollte das anhalten droht delisting
oder reverse-split.

schönen abend noch
lion

[siba]

Gibt es für den Absturz vom Freitag irgendeine Erklärung? Ist da jemend unlimitiert ausgestiegen?
Ich denke, wir werden den 1 $ schon heute wiedersehen. Denke sogar über einen Nachkauf nach. Mal sehen, zu welchen Preisen heute Angeboten wird.
siba

[lion37]

@siba: viel glück!!!

vielleicht sinds ja wirklich nur unlimitierte
verkaeufe eines fonds oder dergleichen.
bin mal gespannt wie sich der kurs im laufe
der woche entwickelt.
das derzeitige niveau reizt zum zocken,



ich warte erstmal bis mitte der woche
ggfs. kommen doch noch "bad news" und ich habe keine
lust ins offene messer zu laufen

gruss
LION37

[siba]

@ Lion37
Habe bei 0,87 nicht wiederstehen können. Allerdings nur 3k. Aber sollte ich recht behalten und es geht wieder über 1 Euro in den nächsten Tagen, dann ist das auch Geld.
siba

[siba]

Hmmmm .... bisher läuft es nicht schlecht.

siba

[siba]

News

SGI kooperiert mit SuSE bei Linux-Anpassung an High-End-Server
Finanzen.net


SuSE, das weltweit zweitgrößte rein auf die Weiterentwicklung und den Service rund um Linux spezialisierte Unternehmen nach Red Hat hat am Montag eine weitreichende Kooperation mit SGI bekannt gegeben. SGI, ehemals Silicon Graphics, ist ein in den USA in den vergangenen Jahren mäßigerfolgreicher Anbieter von High-End-Serversystemen und Supercomputern. Diese werden bislang zumeist mit einem im eigenen Haus weiterentwickelten Unix-Derivat betrieben.
Das Management hat aber mittlerweile die Chancen, die sich durch eine weitreichende Linux-Unterstützung ergeben, erkannt. Dazu zählt unter anderem, dass der weltweit mittlerweile meistverbreitete Unix-Ableger eine wesentlich breitere Softwareunterstützung genießt als die selbstentwickelten Softwareprodukte. Außerdem könnten durch einen kompletten Umstieg mittelfristig Entwicklungskosten eingespart werden. Die Kooperation mit SuSE beinhaltet auch die Anpassung bis auf Quellcode-Ebene an die Hardwareumgebung der SGI Altix 3000 Systeme. Es handelt sich dabei um einen Server aus bis zu 64 Intel Itanium II-Prozessoren, die zu Superclustern zusammengeschaltet werden können. SuSE hat sich unter anderem durch die enge Kooperation mit IBM im Bereich Linux für Supercomputer in diesem kleinen aber exklusiven Marktsegment einen Namen gemacht.

Die Aktien von SGI können am Montag in den USA im späten Handel um 9 Prozent auf 0,98 Dollar zulegen.

Quelle: Finanzen.net 25.08.2003 20:49:00
siba

[ustrading]

schlechte Nachrichten für SGI. Bin mal gespannt ob sie den Sprung in die Gewinnzone dank der neuen Restrukturierung Ende des Jahres schaffen - wenn nicht wird es eng. Die Ratingagentur Standard & Poor`s scheint da ja so ihre Zweifel zu haben.

NEW YORK, Sept 4 - Standard & Poor`s Ratings Services today revised its outlook on Mountain View, Calif.-based Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) (NYSE:SGI - News) to negative from positive. At the same time, Standard & Poor`s affirmed its `CCC-` corporate credit and senior debt ratings, as well as its `CC` subordinated debt rating on the company. The outlook revision reflects recent losses, limited liquidity, and a significant debt maturity in September 2004.

While SGI has a good technology position in high-end computing and graphics solutions, the company has been struggling to establish revenue stability and restore profitability in the highly competitive technical workstation and server markets," said credit analyst Martha Toll-Reed. "The company`s efforts have been hampered by economic weakness and reduced levels of information technology spending."

Near-term liquidity is adequate, but limited. Cash and marketable investment balances (excluding restricted cash) were $141 million as of June 27, 2003. The company expects to use about $40 million of cash to support operations in the September 2003 quarter. Required debt amortization in fiscal 2004 is modest at about $17 million.

The company has fully utilized its available capacity under its secured $50 million credit facility expiring in April 2005 to secure letters of credit. The facility is secured by U.S. accounts receivable and inventory, the pledge of certain intellectual property, and cash deposits. In addition, the facility is subject to acceleration if SGI does not successfully extend the maturity of its senior convertible notes on or before March 5, 2004.

[siba]

Tote Hose hier im Board. Seit drei Wochen kein Kommentar zu SIG und fallende Kurse. Eigentlich wäre jetzt mal wieder ein schöner Anstieg fällig. Die negativen Meldungen sind alle im Kurs eingepreist und bei den nächsten Zahlen könnte es eine positive Überraschung geben.
siba

[lion37]

Hi Siba!!
Heute hat SUN MICRO "bad news" publiziert!
Hoffentlich kommts für SGI nicht genauso düster!?
Wäre ja eigentlich schade.
Na ja schaun wir mal

Warte immer noch auf ein evt. günstiges
Abstauberlimit.
grussLion37

[m.a.x.]

@lion37

schätze, Du wirst "eingestoppt". Wenn der Kurs schon vor den Zahlen in den Keller geht, können wir mit einer Negativüberraschung rechnen. Lege mal ein Limit für 5k zu 0,4€ rein!

[lion37]

hi m.a.x.

sollte SGI wiederholt (die eigentlich
bereits erwarteten) schlechte Zahlen melden
könnten Euros 0,40 als Einstieg klappen!!
Zumal die Anleihe über ca.USDLRS. 230MIO. Sept.2004
zur Tilgung ansteht, der Tausch in die 11,75% Notes
scheint ja nicht wie geplant zu laufen!!


Aber dann bitte wachsam!!!!!!
Delisting steht an, bzw. REVERSE-Split

Werde mal eine Order plazieren.
Gruss,
Lion

[m.a.x.]

hast auf jeden Fall recht. Fakt ist, wenn die soweit runterkommen, könnte man durch die Gegenbewegung schnell 50% machen. Aber nur wenn man wirklich am Geschehen ist. Ansonsten könnte das Geld schnell weg sein...

Schaun mer mal, wann sie die Daten veröffentlichen! Bin mal gespannt, ob eine Gewinnwarnung kommt. Müsste auf jeden Fall noch die Woche passieren! Weist Du was prognostiziert wird??

[lion37]

hi m.a.x.
habe keine info`s was publiziert werden könnte!
denke wird aber wieder mies sein, wie die letzten
quartale, wäre ja schon ein kleines wunder falls
mal etwas positives zu hören wäre, ausser
den "Spinnereien" vom CEO BISHOP!

Sehe es genau wie du, absturz auf ca. euros 0,40
möglich, dann ggfs. rebound, dann aber nix wie
raus.

viel glück,
gruss lion37

[lion37]

hi m.a.x.

habe noch mals schnell bei yahoo.us
nachgeschaut,
die zahlen kommen am 20.10.2003
erwartet wird ein verlust von USDLRS 0,24p/sh
jedoch wird der einstige liebling der wall street
nur noch von einem anal... beobachet.

gruss lion

[ustrading]

nun hat es auch SGI erwischt - noch ist ja in Sachen SCO nix entschieden, die Meldung dürfte sich bis auf eine Klärung negativ auf die weitere Auftragslage auswirken.

SCO will auch SGI die Unix-Lizenz entziehen
Streit um SGIs Journaling-Dateisystem XFS
In einem offenen Brief an die Linux-Community bezieht SGI Stellung zu den Vorwürfen seitens SCO, auch SGI habe unerlaubt Code von SCO in Linux integriert. Zwar gebe es einige kleine Teile, die im Ursprung aus dem UNIX System V stammen, doch seien diese zum einen zuvor unter einer freien Lizenz veröffentlicht worden, würden gar nicht benötigt und seien zu weiten Teilen bereits entfernt. Dennoch, so SGI, könnte SCO dem Unternehmen seine Unix-Lizenz entziehen.

SGI nehme die Einhaltung von Urheberrechten sehr ernst, so SGI. Man habe in den letzten vier Jahren über eine Million Code-Zeilen unter Open-Source-Lizenzen gestellt. Man habe den Code aber zuvor intern ausgiebig geprüft um sicherzustellen, dass SGI auch alle entsprechenden Rechte an den Code-Teilen besitzt.

Nachdem es im Sommer von Seiten der Linux-Community Fragen bezüglich der Routine ate_utils.c gegeben habe, sei der Code nochmals überprüft worden und dabei einige Fragmente in drei allgemeinen Routinen gefunden worden, die dem Code des UNIX System V entsprechen, sich aber ausschließlich auf die I/O-Infrastruktur für SGIs Plattform beziehen.

Die betroffenen Code-Fragmente seien nur versehentlich in dem veröffentlichten Code enthalten und von Beginn an überflüssig gewesen. Man habe besseren Ersatz gefunden, der die gleichen Funktionen im Linux-Kernel übernimmt. Insgesamt gehe es dabei um nicht mehr als 200 Code-Zeilen. Zudem seien alle gefundenen Fragmente so zuvor unter einer freien Lizenz veröffentlicht gewesen, so dass es sehr zweifelhaft sei, dass SCO irgendwelche exklusiven Rechte an diesen Code-Fragmenten besitze.

Dennoch habe man vorsichtshalber die entsprechenden Code-Teile von der eigenen Linux-Website entfernt und Ende Juni bzw. Anfang Juli Patches für Linux 2.4.x und Linux 2.5.x veröffentlicht, die kurze Zeit darauf auch in den Kernel aufgenommen wurden. So enthält der aktuelle Linux-Kernel 2.4.22 die diskutierten Code-Fragmente nicht mehr.

Infolgedessen hat SGI seinen Linux-Code einer weiteren Untersuchung unterzogen und einige weitere Code-Fragmente gefunden, die möglicherweise in Verbindung mit dem UNIX System V gebracht werden können, ähnlich wie die zuvor diskutierten Teile. Derzeit sei man dabei, die zusätzlich identifizierten Code-Fragmente zu entfernen bzw. zu ersetzen.

Ein Streitpunkt bleibt aber offenbar SGIs Journaling-Dateisystem XFS, von dem SCO behauptet, es sei widerrechtlich in Linux integriert worden. SGI sieht dies anders. XFS sei eigens von SGI entwickelt und keine von UNIX System V abgeleitete Arbeit. SGI habe alle Rechte, um XFS jederzeit an jedermann zu lizenzieren und auch das Recht, es als Open Source freizugeben. SCO stützt seine Ansprüche offenbar auf die Tatsache, dass XFS auch zusammen mit IRIX angeboten wurde, doch dies sei eine absurde Position, die weder vor dem Hintergrund von SGIs UNIX-Lizenz noch ganz allgemein nachzuvollziehen sei. "Fakt ist, unsere UNIX-Lizenz macht klar, dass SGI im Besitz aller Rechte an allem Code bleibt, die nicht Teil von AT&Ts UNIX System V waren", so Rich Altmaier, Vice President für Software bei SGI.

In einer Mitteilung an die US-Börsenaufsicht teilte SGI zudem mit, dass SCO gegenüber SGI angekündigt habe, SGI seine UNIX-Lizenz zum 14. Oktober zu entziehen, auf der SGIs Betriebssystem IRIX aufbaut. Nach Ansicht von SGI ist dies aber nicht möglich und die Lizenz unwiderrufbar.

[siba]

Wieso taxt FRA 0,95 zu 1,05? Hab ich was verpasst?
siba

[jumanii]

Inside Frank Quattrone`s Money Machine
The rise and fall of the high-tech investment banker who was an architect of Silicon Valley`s financial culture

Nobody knew it at the time, but the apex of the Internet rocket ride came on the morning of Dec. 9, 1999. Executives of computer maker VA Linux Systems Inc. gathered at 6 a.m. in the trading offices of Credit Suisse First Boston (CSR ) on the 17th floor of a San Francisco skyscraper for the company`s initial public offering. Among those assembled were Larry M. Augustin, the chief executive, and his friend Linus Torvalds, the inventor of the Linux operating system, who was dressed in his customary T-shirt and sandals. Their three toddlers scampered around underfoot while the adults watched in stunned silence as the stock price jumped from 30 a share to more than 200 within minutes. Augustin nudged Torvalds and whispered: "Did you ever think we`d be here?" At the end of trading, the company`s shares were worth 239.25 apiece, up 697.5%, making it the best-ever first-day IPO performance.

The person they had to thank for this heady experience was Frank Quattrone, then head of CSFB`s technology investment banking business. During more than two decades in Silicon Valley, the working-class kid from South Philadelphia had harnessed the forces of capital and innovation to create a money machine that showered the Valley with fabulous fortunes and helped drive productivity growth in the U.S. economy. Think of almost any household name in technology, from Amazon.com (AMZN ) Inc. to Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO ), and Quattrone`s fingerprints were on it -- whether he helped the company raise venture capital, took it public, or advised its CEO on strategy.

Quattrone not only stood at the intersection of power and wealth in the high-tech economy but was also one of its chief architects. He put the deals together, controlled who got in, and helped hand out the bonanzas. He was both a powerbroker and a rainmaker -- a highly lucrative combination. Over the years, he led hundreds of IPOs and other financings, raising $65 billion for tech companies. But it was the tech stock boom that pumped his image up to near-mythic proportions. The ultracompetitive Quattrone and his team led 138 high-tech IPOs from 1998 to 2000, nearly as many as the next two -- Goldman Sachs & Co. (GS ) and Morgan Stanley (MWD ) -- combined, according to market researcher Dealogic.

Today, only the lawyers are getting rich. Frank Quattrone, 47, pale and puffy-eyed, occupies a chair at the defendant`s table in U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan, where his trial on federal obstruction-of-justice charges began on Sept. 29. Federal authorities charge that he interfered with an investigation into improper allocation of IPO shares by sending an e-mail to his employees on Dec. 5, 2000, urging them to purge unnecessary documents. He insists this was an innocent, routine reminder of company procedures. To drive home this point, Quattrone is expected to take the stand in his own defense. It`s a risky strategy. But Quattrone, whose powers of persuasion helped land scores of deals, is betting that the same personal touch will swing the jury to his side. If he`s convicted, legal experts say he could serve one or two years in jail.

Meanwhile, Quattrone faces a much broader inquest by the National Association of Securities Dealers into a whole range of alleged rules violations, including making improper IPO share allocations and offering potential clients favorable analysts` coverage -- charges he also denies. The NASD investigation was triggered by a tip about stock allocations that surfaced the day of Quattrone`s triumphant VA Linux IPO. Roger B. Sherman, the NASD`s senior vice-president for enforcement, testified at Quattrone`s trial. By the time this process is over, much of Quattrone`s professional life will have been laid bare -- and thoroughly picked over.

It makes for a remarkable and sobering tale. In a two-month investigation, BusinessWeek delved into Quattrone`s financial empire, turning up details on his web of interwoven dealings that underpinned the Internet economy -- and the greed that fueled them. Take Quattrone`s pay package. BusinessWeek has learned how Quattrone used his clout and connections to mint a personal fortune. Quattrone`s team reaped at least one-third of all the revenues they brought in above an annual quota, say three sources familiar with the arrangement. In 1999 alone, $600 million poured into Quattrone`s outpost, giving select participants in his group an estimated take of nearly $150 million. The next year, the team`s revenues jumped to $1.4 billion, says an ex-CSFBer, landing them an even fatter payday. Quattrone alone pocketed $200 million between 1998 and 2000, according to the NASD. Typically, at that time, top managing directors in investment banking took in $8 million to $10 million, according to estimates from Wall Street compensation tracker McLagan Partners Inc.

Interviews with more than three dozen Quattrone colleagues, business associates, and friends reveal how he pieced together his empire. With the blessing of his superiors, he supervised the managers of not just investment bankers but also stock analysts and brokers. He also had budgetary control of his group -- power enjoyed by virtually no other managers at CSFB. "The deal was almost like a joint venture, totally independent," says William L. Burnham, a former analyst who worked with Quattrone at CSFB.

That independence handed Quattrone more power and control than anyone else in tech banking. And he used it. His firm`s gifts of IPO shares to potential clients, which Quattrone`s defenders say were legal, were good for business. But the gifts drove a wedge between the interests of individuals and their companies. And the grand paychecks for his team made it possible for CSFB to attract top producers -- even though critics say they rewarded bankers for the sheer number of deals, regardless of quality.

TACTICS ON TRIAL. While it`s Quattrone who is facing justice in Manhattan, a wide swath of Silicon Valley stands trial as well. Quattrone`s banking tactics, many of which he pioneered, were adopted by other banks, ultimately becoming business-as-usual in the tech industry. This snowball effect helped create the market mania of the late 1990s and the resulting crash of NASDAQ stocks that cost investors more than $5 trillion. If Quattrone is found guilty, the high-tech capital of the world may face increased pressure to overhaul its tight-knit culture.

Even in the face of the market collapse, scandals, and greater regulatory scrutiny, Silicon Valley today clings to the system that made Quattrone the most powerful high-tech financier ever. It`s one that locks together the interests of venture capitalists, bankers, lawyers, and entrepreneurs, much like Japan`s keiretsu. This sharing of information and advice often improves the performance of companies and hastens innovations to market. Yet the system creates conflicts of interest. Even now, lawyers continue to take equity and sit on the boards of client companies. Banks still invest in startups they take public. And tech executives still get rich off the money they sink into their venture backer`s funds.

A whiff of reform is in the air. "Silicon Valley has to grow up. We can no longer think we`re this cute little outlaw place where we make our own rules," says William V. Campbell, chairman of software maker Intuit Inc. (INTU ) and adviser to startups. But in the offices and cozy lunch spots along U.S. highway 101, there`s also an impulse to let bygones be bygones, and to let Quattrone off the hook, too.

Quattrone can still count on an army of friends and former business associates to come to his defense. They contend he`s taking the fall for an ambiguous regulatory system that failed to restrain behavior that became commonplace as markets and investors stampeded out of control. His supporters include veteran venture capitalist C. Richard Kramlich, legendary high-tech investment banker Sanford R. Robertson, and entrepre- neur James Clark, a co-founder of Netscape Communications Corp., which Quattrone took public. "The whole thing is a bit of a witch hunt," says Clark. "Frank has been caught in the squeeze between people who make a mark by prosecuting people and the momentum of the times."

What drove Quattrone? He declined to comment for this story. But interviews with those who know him paint a picture of a man who started off with a noble mission: to help build Silicon Valley into an economic powerhouse. But when the markets crested so frothily, Quattrone rode the wave faster and farther than anybody else. He became less tied to the details of a deal -- and more focused on landing the deal. He was swept along by a confluence of driving ambition, the potential for untold riches, and the willingness of investors to devour whatever they were served.

A FASCINATION WITH RISK. Quattrone`s relentless drive to be No. 1 came to life on the streets of Philadelphia. He was inspired by his father, an Italian immigrant who worked in a clothing factory and made ends meet by wallpapering on weekends. Quattrone worked hard, too, and scored in the 99th percentile nationally on a scholarship entrance exam to win entry into the all-boys St. Joseph`s Preparatory School in inner-city Philadelphia. One thing Quattrone took away from St. Joe`s was an intellectual fascination with taking risks. In an essay on Homer`s Odyssey, he focused on the qualities that make up strong leaders. "The point of his essay was that real leadership involves danger and the assumption of risk without assessing the pain and suffering it might cause the leader," says Harry Bender, who taught him ancient Greek. "I gave him an A."

Quattrone got a chance to put his ideas to the test when he launched his business career. Wall Street considered Silicon Valley a backwater in 1981, when he earned an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, after graduating summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. No major investment bank saw a reason to even put an office there. But Quattrone became obsessed with the Valley`s nascent tech industry and, against the advice of senior investment bankers, decided that this was where he would make his mark. After landing a job at Morgan Stanley`s branch office in San Francisco, he worked tirelessly to master the tech fundamentals -- attending computer industry events, such as the Comdex trade show. Later, he moved his family to the Valley. "I`m sure people [on Wall Street] thought he was out of his mind," says Roger B. McNamee, a veteran tech investor at buyout firm Silver Lake Partners. "It was like Bob Dylan going electric. It was radical and beyond weird."

Not only did Quattrone live among the Valley`s techies, he went native. His goal was to build a vast network of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs he could count on to pass on scoops about up-and-coming companies or give him the inside track on landing the next IPO. He was a world-class schmoozer, immediately identifiable by his mop of brown hair, crew-neck sweater, and bushy mustache. By the time he became head of Morgan Stanley`s West Coast technology practice in 1986, he was inviting the Valley`s players along on ski trips to Utah`s Deer Valley and golf outings at Pebble Beach, Calif.

RIGHT STUFF. He used the events to show the Silicon Valley crowd that he was just like them -- and that he understood their financial needs better than the suits on Wall Street. He wasn`t afraid to be a regular guy, either, charming his guests with raucous renditions of Rocky Racoon during late night karioke sessions. The crowd ate it up. It was the first time anyone from a big-name bank showed real interest in their fledgling industry. "Tech entrepreneurs related to Frank," says Harvey Jones, former CEO of Synopsis Inc., a chip design company in Mountain View, Calif., that Quattrone took public in 1991.

The formula clicked. He combined Morgan Stanley`s resources and stellar reputation with his own rainmaking skills to line up some of the most coveted IPOs of the time, including Silicon Graphics (SGI ), and Cisco Systems. With his star rising, he took over Morgan`s Global Technology group in 1991. Even though his responsibilities spanned the globe, in 1994 he was the first to put an investment banking office in the Valley, when he transplanted his from San Francisco to Menlo Park, Calif. -- within walking distance of the Valley`s venture-capital firms.

Collectively, these moves and his connections helped land the Netscape IPO, a seminal event. Getting the business was a slam dunk for Quattrone, considering Morgan Stanley`s reputation and his own connections with key players like Clark. On the eve of the deal`s pricing in August, 1995, he urged Netscape`s management to double its offering price, to 28 a share. It was risky, but they took his advice and saw their stock rise 150% on its first day of trading, the biggest jump in Wall Street`s history at the time. It was the beginning of the era of excess -- for Quattrone and the tech economy.

The euphoria surrounding Netscape sent Quattrone`s status into the stratosphere. He pushed for greater control at Morgan Stanley, stretching his leadership to research, where analysts issue reports on the financial prospects of companies. That had always been traditionally managed separately all along Wall Street to avoid conflicts of interest. When his Morgan Stanley bosses refused, Quattrone quit, taking eight colleagues with him to start up a new tech banking practice for Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., which gave him the control he craved. Within two years, in mid-1998, he had defected again, for an even better deal, this time at CSFB.

Quattrone`s goal was to get ever larger slices of the huge payday the Internet boom offered, according to former associates. At CSFB, he cut a deal with management that in 1999 gave him and his employees at least 33% of the revenues the group brought in over $150 million, in addition to their salaries, say former Quattrone colleagues. Their banking revenue tally was $600 million that year, meaning Quattrone had nearly $150 million to divvy up among select associates. The package, say critics, emphasized near-term results over long-term investment returns. On top of that payoff were profits that Quattrone and his senior bankers were raking in from their investments in venture-capital firms or in startups, such as Web-site software maker Interwoven (IWOV ), and PC maker eMachines. CSFB declined to comment on the pay package, but former employees say Quattrone made it rain money. "It was a nice place to be," says one of them with a chuckle.

To maximize the money flowing into his own group, Quattrone had created a distinctive structure that helped him win the greatest number of deals. The chiefs of investment banking, research, and private-client services reported to him. That way he could call on -- and control -- any resource required and present a single face to the client. When he or other bankers pitched to CEOs to manage their IPO, they would take a team with them: investment bankers to talk about how much money they could bring in, analysts to show off their knowledge of the competitive landscape, and client-services people to offer up a menu of personal investment services. In other cases, commercial bankers were brought along to discuss raising debt.

The structure itself didn`t break any laws, but Quattrone`s accusers say the way he leveraged it violated both NASD rules and basic business ethics. For example: More than 300 accounts were created for so-called Friends of Frank, people who might give CSFB banking business in the future, and they were handed shares in upcoming IPOs, according to NASD. A senior executive at eGreetings Network Inc. was given 1,000 shares in VA Linux, for instance -- and sold half of them a day later for a profit of more than $83,000. A week later, CSFB took eGreetings public and collected $1.6 million in fees, says the agency.

Quattrone has denied having any authority or influence over IPO stock allocations. His defense argues that CSFB`s compliance department reviewed tech`s private-client-services structure and deemed it legal and appropriate. Moreover, his defense says that CSFB`s leadership worked to avoid conflicts between business units by having the chiefs of brokers and researchers also report to the heads of their respective divisions. Several former DMG and CSFB analysts defend Quattrone`s integrity. J. William Gurley, formerly of DMG and now a venture capitalist, says Quattrone backed him when he issued a tough report on Netscape and gave a thumbs-down to the At Home Inc. IPO. As a result, DMG lost investment banking business. "These are real world examples where I made decisions with a huge negative impact on banking and was supported in full," he says.

FACING THE MUSIC. As the market frenzy intensified, though, some in Silicon Valley lost faith in Quattrone. They say that instead of being driven by the region`s entrepreneurial spirit, he was consumed by a thirst for power. An early indicator was a now-infamous letter he sent to clients in 1998 when rumors circulated that he might leave DMG. "We are here to stay. Please trust us," he pledged. Yet four months later, Quattrone and virtually his entire team jumped ship to CSFB. "For him, it was all about getting a better deal," says Richard E. Belluzzo, then CEO of high-performance computer maker Silicon Graphics Inc., which was in the midst of a Quattrone-managed spin-off of chip maker MIPS Technologies Inc. (MIPS ) Robert A. Chlopak, a spokesman for Quattrone, says that the move to CSFB was prompted by unexpected changes within Deutsche and that most of Quattrone`s clients came with him. "If people didn`t trust him, that wouldn`t have happened," says Chlopak. Deutsche declined comment.

When the going was good, there was little Quattrone would not do to win business. Peter H. Jackson, CEO of software company Intraware Inc., recalls that when he was preparing to take his company public, in late 1998, he told CSFB bankers that he was tired of being "dragged around to meetings like a mule." The next morning, a live mule was delivered to the lobby of Jackson`s office building in Orinda, Calif., with a bottle of wine tied around its neck. "Stop feeling like a mule and pick CSFB," said the note signed by Quattrone. That touch helped CSFB win Intraware`s business.

But when the bottom fell out of the market, Jackson says that the game changed abruptly. Intraware`s stock plunged from a peak of 99 a share in early 2000 to less than 5 by the end of that year. Jackson, worried that his company might go belly-up, was looking for financial aid and advice. But CSFB had already written him off. Ultimately, Intraware went through a massive downsizing, narrowly avoiding bankruptcy. Says Jackson: "I thought these guys would take care of me through thick and thin. But I was like an ex-wife at that point." Quattrone`s defense says he was not personally involved in Intraware and that CSFB did help troubled companies, such as Handspring Inc., when it was able to do so.

It wasn`t long before Quattrone himself was everybody`s ex. As the stock market went into a tailspin, prosecutors and regulators began questioning all of Wall Street. Quattrone`s money machine attracted intense scrutiny. Although CSFB stuck by him long after his business melted away, it forced his resignation on Mar. 4, just days before NASD filed charges. Federal prosecutors arrested him on Apr. 23, and the world was treated to yet another capitalist perp walk outside a Manhattan courthouse.

Now, seated at the defense table in the courtroom of Judge Richard Owen, Quattrone`s days of wealth and power in Silicon Valley seem a long way off. Legal experts say he has a reasonable chance of being cleared because the criminal case hinges on one e-mail, and prosecutors will have to prove that he intended to hinder their probe. But it will be harder for him to escape censure by NASD because of the public outcry in the wake of corporate scandals. An adverse finding could result in his being banned from the banking industry for life and heavily fined. Like Odysseus, Quattrone was a leader who was not afraid to take risks. And now he`s facing the consequences.


By Linda Himelstein
With Steve Hamm in New York and Peter Burrows in San Mateo, Calif.






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