Lucent networking unit seeking to lower debt

Lucent Technologies, once a symbol of America's technological might, is again having troubles. The company plans to launch its optical networking unit, Agere Systems, in an attempt to lower its level of debt and raise-much needed cash. Unfortunately for Lucent, the initial public offering has hit speed bump after speed bump.\nAs the old adage goes: The worst time to ask for money is when you really need it. Since announcing the spin-off, lead underwriter Morgan Stanley has done many things to attract investors. The company lowered the sale price three times from $15-$20 per share to $6-$7,and increased the number of shares being sold from 370.3 million to 600 million.\nAgere's IPO, the second largest in U.S. history, was originally intended to be a harbinger of Lucent's turnaround. Before the technology bubble burst, some predicted Agere would have a market value of around $100 billion. At its current offering price, Agere would have a value of between $9.8 and $11.5 billion.\nThe huge drop in Agere's value can be attributed to two factors. First, with technology stocks down, investors aren't interested in buying more. "The market sentiment for optical stocks is quite poor," Sanford Bernstein analyst Paul Sagawa told The Wall Street Journal.\nSecond, Agere's ability to make money has been eroding through the years as competition has increased. Last year, it had an operating income of just $5 million on $5.1 billion in sales. Agere's Securities and Exchange Commission filing said, "(They) are experiencing softening demand, which may result in a significant operating loss (in the current quarter.)" On top of weakening operating performance, Lucent will give Agere $2.5 billion of its debt once the deal is done.\nThe original IPO date, slated for last week, has been pushed to tomorrow at the earliest, but could be pushed back still further, according to The Wall Street Journal.\nAlertIPO.com, a Web site devoted to tracking IPO's, believes Agere will be floated if the markets remain flat or go up, but it will be postponed if they dip. "I would look for (Agere) to go out if indeed we see the NASDAQ stabilizing if we see the same see-saw action, then it's questionable," AlertIPO.com's co-CEO told CNNfn.\nIf Agere's IPO is successful, the sickly IPO market might again heat up. The Wall Street Journal reports that there has yet to be a week this year where there are more completed IPO's than ones pulled. The market needs a positive sign, and Agere might just be just what it is seeking.