Credit Suisse First Boston Maintains #1 Market Share in Technology Financings and M&A in 2000

Lead Manager for the Top Performing Initial Public Offerings

Palo Alto, January 8, 2001 - For the second consecutive year, Credit Suisse First Boston achieved #1 market share in both financings as well as mergers and acquisitions transactions for the technology industry.* The year's highlights include the following:

This #1 position is particularly notable given that it was achieved against a backdrop of very volatile markets. "In markets like we are currently experiencing, companies must make crucial judgments as to what strategic and financing alternatives to consider, who are the right strategic partners, and what is the right time to sell or to raise private or public capital," said Frank Quattrone, Managing Director and Head of the Credit Suisse First Boston Technology Group. "As a result, the value of sound advice and credible research goes up. No other firm can match the experience of our bankers, the credibility and bandwidth of our research team, or the power of our global distribution and trading platform."

Not only did the Firm achieve the #1 position in 2000, its market share increased dramatically following the market correction in April 2000 (from 18% to 31% in IPOs and from 17% to 20% for follow-ons). "I'm especially pleased that we extended our market share lead in an environment where we could really make a difference for our clients," said Mr. Quattrone. CSFB effectively re-opened the IPO market after the mid-April correction with the IPO of New Focus - the first IPO after April 14th to price above an upwardly revised filing range.

The impact of the downturn in the market has not slowed the Group's overall business. "The beauty of our business," continued Frank Quattrone, "is that we're strong in all sectors, regions and products, so we are less vulnerable to market shifts. For example, in 1999 we were very strong in Internet and IT services; in 2000 communications equipment, software and semiconductors led the way. So even though the Internet sector experienced a severe setback, our business this year more than doubled. Similarly, a year ago IPOs and common stock offerings drove the business; now M&A and private capital raising are the most active areas."

#1 Technology M&A Advisory Franchise

Credit Suisse First Boston's fully integrated technology M&A team has proven once again its ability to maximize value for its clients' shareholders, realizing the highest premiums on its sellside assignments, paying the lowest premiums on its buyside assignments, and achieving unprecedented valuations for private companies. "We are proud of our reputation for being very responsive to clients' needs and for developing innovative strategies that have helped our clients redefine the landscape in many technology sectors," said George Boutros, global head of CSFB's technology M&A group.

The firm's technology advisory work demonstrates the cross-border, as well as the cross-sector, teamwork at CSFB. Instrumental to its success is access to the firm's extensive global resources and cooperation with colleagues in other banking sectors and regions. As testimony to its capabilities, CSFB advised Lycos, an online network, on its merger with Terra Networks, the leading Spanish ISP and content provider and subsidiary of telecom giant Telefonica. The Lycos/Terra merger won one of Corporate Finance magazine's highly-coveted "Deals of the Year" awards last month -- as the "Best Deal for a Hi-Tech Issuer". It was "arguably the most important Internet alliance this year" according to the publication. CSFB has played a clear leadership role in the ongoing consolidation of the European Internet sector as well, having advised on 4 of the top 5 Internet transactions in 2000, including the recently announced merger of Freeserve and Wanadoo.

Landmark M&A assignments in 2000 included:

The Leader in Quality Technology Financings

In a year that tested the financing abilities of all investment banks, CSFB is proud to have achieved not only the #1 position in terms of the number of IPOs, follow-ons and equity private placements it completed, but in the overall quality of its transactions. For example, CSFB lead-managed 7 of the 20 top performing IPOs and 17 of the top 50, in each case more than any competitor. These IPOs included Embarcadero Technologies, the year's best technology IPO, as well as Handspring, McDATA, DDi Corporation and New Focus. At an average appreciation of 78% in a volatile year such as 2000, these 17 IPOs underscore the Firm's intense focus on the quality of the companies it chooses to underwrite. The aftermarket performance of its follow-on offerings is similarly impressive, with the best track record from filing-to-pricing and pricing-to-current in the industry.

"This past year, our team has clearly solidified CSFB's position as a global powerhouse in technology financing and our reputation for high quality IPOs," said Bill Brady, global head of Corporate Finance for the CSFB Technology Group. "Having focused on technology banking for more than 20 years now, our group has the judgment and expertise to provide sound advice even in turbulent markets." Whether it's launching IPOs for first-of-a-kind companies such as Cisco, Corvis and Phone.com, or completing "event" financings for giants like Hewlett-Packard, EMC and ASM Lithography, CSFB's technology experts have more experience than anyone. This experience makes a difference in volatile markets. For example, in early December with the NASDAQ at its lowest point for the year, CSFB executed the Gemplus IPO on both NASDAQ and the Primary Market of Euronext Paris SA. By leveraging its global market capabilities and integrated multi-sector research team, the Gemplus IPO was successfully placed, trading up 25% on its first day and 62% by year end.

Landmark financing transactions in 2000 included:

IPOs:

Follow-Ons:

Equity Private Placements:

Convertible and Debt Financings:

Recognition by Independent Polls

The CSFB brand advantage is being increasingly recognized by respected third party sources. A recent Reuters Survey of top institutional fund managers ranked CSFB as the #1 firm overall and #1 in quality, due diligence, pricing and equitable allocation of new issues, as well as aftermarket performance, quality of research product and service in the aftermarket. In addition, Institutional Investor ranked CSFB #1 for its technology sales team in 2000, International Finance Review awarded CSFB its prestigious "Equity Linked House of the Year" award for 2000, and its Asian banking team was just ranked as the "Best Technology House" of the year by Finance Asia magazine.

"A hallmark of our strategy is an intense focus on quality," said Mr. Quattrone, "the quality of our clients, our aftermarket performance and our service."

World Class Independent Technology Research

Credit Suisse First Boston's global technology research team, led by top-ranked analyst Elliott Rogers, further enhanced its reputation as the largest, most credible and insightful team on Wall Street. With 54 senior analysts worldwide covering over 500 companies, CSFB has more analysts in more regions, covering more sectors than any other firm.

"Our analysts have more depth and breadth - critical bandwidth - which enables them to focus and to produce superior research," said Elliott Rogers, head of global Technology Research for CSFB. "Additionally, our analysts actually talk to one another! Our integrated, cross-sector team approach, combined with individual analysts' strong technical backgrounds, makes for far more comprehensive research coverage." Particularly in light of Regulation FD, the importance of this form of primary research is heightened.

In the U.S. last year, CSFB's technology analysts were once again recognized by the industry with 7 Institutional Investor All-America Research team awards, 8 Greenwich Survey top-five rankings and 22 Reuters Survey top five rankings. They also garnered 3 Wall Street Journal "Best of the Street 2000" awards. In Europe, CSFB's Software & Computer Services and Information Technology research teams were ranked #1 by Reuters. The European team also claimed 2 Institutional Investor awards and 4 Extel awards. CSFB's All-Asia Technology Research was ranked #1 by Institutional Investor and The Asset 2000. The Asia team also received 3 Asiamoney top-three rankings.

A Global Powerhouse

The CSFB Technology Group now has over 600 employees - more than any other technology group - making it better equipped than any other firm to scale with the growth of the market and provide excellent service to its clients. With professionals in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America, CSFB is well positioned to provide a full range of investment banking services to emerging and established technology leaders worldwide.

* Source: Securities Data Corporation. Excludes telecommunications services transactions; includes all CSFB technology M&A transactions announced and financing transactions completed between 1/1/00 - 12/31/00.

 

Important Information

These announcements are neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any of these securities. These offerings are made only by the prospectuses. Includes both Credit Suisse First Boston and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette transactions for the period January through December 2000. Copyright 2001 Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. All rights reserved.

Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) is a leading global investment banking firm serving institutional, corporate, government and individual clients. CSFB's businesses include securities underwriting, sales and trading, investment and merchant banking, financial advisory services, investment research, venture capital, correspondent brokerage services and online brokerage services. It operates in over 76 locations across more than 37 countries and 6 continents, and has some 27,000 staff worldwide. The Firm is a business unit of the Zurich based Credit Suisse Group, a leading global financial services company.

 

Press Contacts

Press Contacts
Cheryl Popp CSFB - Palo Alto Tel: 650-614-1630
Lisa James CSFB - Palo Alto Tel: 650-614-1632
Sierra Scott CSFB - Palo Alto Tel: 650-614-1633