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Bull's stock halted limit-up
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April 30, 1999: 9:48 a.m. ET
French computer company spikes 21% amid talk government may sell stake
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Trading in French computer company Bull was halted temporarily on the Paris bourse Friday after its shares soared to the exchange's maximum permissible ceiling.
The suspension came amid talk a sizable stake in the company held by the French government may be sold.
A Bull (PBUL) spokesman told Reuters the company doesn't plan to issue a statement on its capital Friday.
The shares surged 20.98 percent to a year-high of 7.90 euros before trading was discontinued.
The Bull spokesman told the news agency the company still is in talks to find an alternative shareholder to the French state, which currently owns a 17.3 percent stake in the company.
Motorola (MOT), NEC and France Telecom (PFTE) each hold an additional 18 percent interest in Bull; the remainder of the company floats on the open market.
In a related development, Reuters reported Merrill Lynch had raised its short-term rating on Bull stock to "buy" from "neutral" and its long-term rating to "2" from "3".
Merrill Lynch analysts couldn't immediately be reached for comment Friday. Bull officials didn't answer telephone calls Friday to the company's headquarters in Louveciennes, France.
But a spokesperson at the Paris bourse said Bull shares had been suspended limit-up after surging more than 10 percent to a ceiling of 7.90 euros on heavy volume of nearly 1.7 million shares.
Bull makes mini and mainframe computers. The firm recently extended its line to include servers, terminals, smart cards and network management software.
In 1998, the company reported net income of $3 million on sales of $4.44 billion.
Friday's stock price of 7.90 euros marked a 58 percent jump from its low of 4.99, hit March 24. 
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Bull SA
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