As a subsidiary, FORE will not be subservient.(FORE Systems Inc.)

Firm plans to continue acquisitions practice

MARSHALL - FORE Systems Inc. has purchased nine computer networking and telecommunications companies over the past four years.

And even though a large London-based company has bought the Marshall Township-based firm, FORE officials say its buying trend will continue, and that FORE's position in the computer networking marketplace Will not be diminished, but enhanced.

"We have acquired companies in the past as a strategic competitive advantage and to help fill a hole in the product line," said Donal Byrne, FORE's senior vice president of corporate marketing. "It certainly strengthens our position to have a significant amount of resources at our disposal in this aggressive market."

That's another way of saying FORE, a firm with $632 million in annual revenues and a $3.75 billion market capitalization, can …