Wang Laboratories Inc is going from strength to strength now it has decided to concentrate on being a network integration company. Revenue for the first quarter to September 30 is up 14.5% to $312.2m and it recorded a profit of $11.4m against a loss of $12.3m at the same stage last year. And the company is set for a big expansion worldwide, confirming that it is in discussions with Olivetti to take over Olsy, its systems and services subsidiary. As it is sitting on a cash pile of $177.8m, swallowing this tasty morsel with annual revenue in the $1.5bn region is unlikely to strain resources, though a purchase price of between $600m and $900m has been quoted. And Wang strike a cautionary note by saying there can be no assurance that the discussions over Olsy will lead to a transaction – so there must be hard bargaining underway behind the scenes. The sale of its imaging business to Eastman Kodak Inc for $260m now looks an excellent deal and Wang – especially strong in the government and defense sector – is now sitting on an order book of more than $7.5bn, after bringing in $725m of work in the last three months alone. Assuming it has no problems in executing this work profitably and manages a smooth integration of the Olsy operation, Wang is likely to continue to please investors.
