ネットスケープの株価が急騰した。
理由としてサン・マイクロシステムズが買収するからだという噂が流れた。

ネットスケープの業績は４半期としての最初の赤字を１月に発表して４００人の
人員整理をした。

ある編集者は、サンが帳簿価値の６倍も出して買わないだろうと言っている。

ネットスケープはインターネット用ブラウザーのソフトではトップであったが、
マイクロソフトのインターネット・エクスプローラーに急激にシェアーをとられ
てきている。

今年の初めからはネットスケープもマイクロソフトがしているようにブラウザー
を無料で配布し始めた。

 A Netscape spokeswoman declined to comment on the rumors. Officials at
 Sun were not immediately available.
 Netscape shares jumped 5-13/16 to 25-9/16 on Thursday.
 Michael Murphy, editor of the California Technology Stock Letter, said
 that while Netscape is "definitely on the block," he doubted the Sun 
 Microsystems rumor was true, because Netscape's valuation was too high.



  "Are they really going to pay six times book value for a money-losing
   company?
   It would ruin Sun's earnings," he said.

  "The problem is that at the current price, I don't think anybody will
   buy it."


 
  Takeover rumors have been swirling around Netscape for the last two
  months as the company's earnings and market share eroded. In January,
  Netscape reported its first quarterly loss since it went public, and
  eliminated about 400 jobs.


 
  Netscape, which was one of the first companies to develop Internet
  browse software, but has been rapidly losing market share to Microsoft
  Corp's Internet Explorer.

  Earlier this year, Netscape began giving away the browser for free
  just as  Microsoft does, and in a controversial move, began distributing
  the valued blueprint to its browser software.