Oni Systems Corp

ONI Systems Corp. picked a good day for its initial public offering, but it might have gone well on any day. Amid the broad rebound in tech issues Thursday, ONI's shares (ONIS) rocketed from their offering price of $25 to close at $82.56 on Nasdaq. Investors' appetite for the fiber-optic equipment maker was so robust before the offering that ONI and its banker, Goldman, Sachs & Co., increased the size of the deal by 56%.

Ciena Corp., the second-largest U.S. maker of fiber-optic telephone equipment, will buy rival ONI Systems Corp. for $900 million in stock and the assumption of $300 million in debt in a plan to add sales in one of the only rising communications-gear markets, Ciena spokesman Glenn Jasper said. The bid values ONI shares, down 87% in the last year, at about $6.20, a 12% premium to Friday's closing price.

Ciena Corp., the second-largest U.S. maker of fiber-optic telephone equipment, will buy rival ONI Systems Corp. for $900 million in stock and the assumption of $300 million in debt in a plan to add sales in one of the only rising communications-gear markets, Ciena spokesman Glenn Jasper said. The bid values ONI shares, down 87% in the last year, at about $6.20, a 12% premium to Friday's closing price.

ONI Systems Corp. picked a good day for its initial public offering, but it might have gone well on any day. Amid the broad rebound in tech issues Thursday, ONI's shares (ONIS) rocketed from their offering price of $25 to close at $82.56 on Nasdaq. Investors' appetite for the fiber-optic equipment maker was so robust before the offering that ONI and its banker, Goldman, Sachs & Co., increased the size of the deal by 56%.

Chase Manhattan Corp. probably will post fourth-quarter earnings below forecasts as falling stock prices bite into the No. 2 U.S. bank's investments in start-up companies, analysts said. Chase's investments, valued at $10.5 billion at the end of September, could decline by as much as $300 million in value in its fourth quarter, according to Ruchi Madan, an analyst at Salomon Smith Barney Inc.

Shares of communications equipment makers such as Ciena Corp. and Juniper Networks Inc. fell Friday as voice and data services company Qwest Communications International Inc. halted work by contractors in a move to reduce costs, analysts said. Qwest, which has been cutting jobs and expenses to offset weak sales in the soft economy, said Friday that it halted work by 1,000 contractors assigned to special projects.

Even in this rocky market, analysts who cover initial public offerings, or IPOs, tend to be bullish about the new stocks' prospects. But Ben Holmes, president of IpoPros.com in Boulder, Colo., said one of this week's scheduled offerings already has at least three strikes against it. Urban Cool Network Inc. (UBN) of Dallas, operator of an online communications information and e-commerce network targeted to urban consumers, plans to offer 2 million shares at $9 to $11 each via Kashner Davidson.

Blaming volatile stock market conditions, Right Start Inc., a Westlake Village-based retailer of children's products, said Friday that it is withdrawing a planned first-time stock sale by its fast-growing Internet venture, Rightstart.com. The $60-million offering by the online retailer is one of many planned initial public offerings pulled or delayed in recent weeks. Others include AmericanGreetings.com, Total Sports and, also on Friday, Internet services out-sourcer Intira Corp.