Cabletron's shares rose five per cent on Friday after the networking vendor revealed plans to split into four. The new units -- to be called Riverstone Networks, Enterasys Networks, Global Network Technology Services and Aprisma Management Technologies -- will do business in the service provider, e-business, services and infrastructure management software markets. They will start as subsidiaries of the US networking giant, but the plan is to eventually spin them off as separate public companies. "Our action today has a single purpose -- to give us the focus and agility to seize these market opportunities and better serve our customers," said Piyush Patel, Cabletron CEO and president. "Each of these companies will speak with clarity of purpose to its shareholders, customers, partners and employees." Shares topped $40 at one point following the announcement, their highest price since 1997. They closed up $2 at $38. ®