STOCKS TO WATCH: GST, i2, iVillage and Microsoft
Expect the following stocks to be among Monday's most actively traded issues: GST Telecommunications, iVillage and Microsoft.
Expect GST Telecommunications shares to fade Monday after announcing it will eliminate 100 jobs, or 8 percent of its total workforce.
Company officials said the cuts will cover managers and support staff.
Its shares closed off 3/32 to 9 13/16 Friday.
iVillage said late Friday that it has become aware of an unsolicited tender offer by Growth Capital Corp. to buy up to 1.4 million shares at $22 a share and recommends that shareholders reject it.
The company has about 29.5 million shares outstanding. Its stock closed Friday at 23 7/8, up 1/2 on the day.
iVillage said in a statement that it has had no previous or current relationship with Growth Capital and was never formally notified of the tender offer.
The offer seeks to buy less than 5 percent of the company's outstanding stock.
i2 has agreed to buy Aspect Development Inc.(Nasdaq:ASDV) for $9.3 billion in stock in a deal that is likely to strengthen the software makers's presence in the electronic commerce market, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Under the terms of the deal, i2 will exchange 0.55 of its shares for each share of Aspect Development, after a 2-for-1 split.
The deal will be the largest software transaction ever, the Journal said. Both boards have approved the deal, which is expected to be announced Monday.
Obviously Microsoft's always among the heavy volume leaders but Monday's trading will provide some insight as to how investors feel about its foray into the gaming world.
Andersen Consulting and Microsoft also said on Monday said they had agreed to a $1 billion pact to form a joint venture and expand of their existing relationship to offer companies a range of services an technologies based on the Windows 2000 operating system.
On Friday, Microsoft unveiled its eagerly awaited video gaming console -- the X-Box -- the centerpiece of its plans to enter the highly competitive video game hardware market and turn the $20 billion industry on its head.
At a gathering of thousands of video game developers in San Jose, Calif., Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, unveiled a big, aluminum X-shaped prototype of the company's first-ever video gaming console.
"This is a huge milestone,'' Gates said at the Game Developers Conference. ``It's a new platform for the industry, and we are looking forward to see what you will be doing with it.''
Despite the fanfare, some analysts and developers said the X-Box was a big gamble for Microsoft, which has built a world-class business with its dominant PC operating system and office applications. Its track record with some consumer products has been spotty, most notably its failed Bob software effort.
Its shares closed up 1 to 101 Friday.
Reuters contributed to this report.>