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BCE Emergis shares jump on acquisition speculation
by Simon Tuck - Saturday, January 22, 2000
Ottawa -- BCE Emergis Inc. shares jumped yesterday as the e-commerce specialist said it is "closer and closer" to making at least one major acquisition in the United States.
The Montreal-based company's share price gained $8.50 or 7.3 per cent yesterday to $125.50 on the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday, setting a 52-week high as investors continue to bet that BCE Emergis will emerge as a big player in the blossoming corporate market for e-commerce products.
The stock has gained more than 30 per cent this week, has doubled in the past four weeks and quadrupled since October. By market capitalization, BCE Emergis -- formerly Mpact Immedia Corp. -- is the fifth most valuable technology company in Canada.
Bell Emergis has been saying for months that it plans to expand into the United States with at least one purchase, but the company admitted yesterday that a deal is now in the "near term." An acquisition of a public company could also provide the company with a fast-track route to a U.S. listing.
"We will be looking to do acquisitions and we're focused on the U.S.," said Barry Engel, senior vice-president of corporate affairs. "We will be doing it -- I don't want to say when."
Company spokeswoman Lyne Beauregard said the company is "getting closer and closer to going through with it."
Despite the recent share price runup, most analysts remain bullish on the company's prospects. "There's tremendous demand for what they do," said Rajiv Das, a technology analyst at CIBC World Markets Inc. in Toronto. "BCE Emergis is becoming one of the leading business-to-business e-commerce companies in the country."
BCE Emergis, which became a partly owned subsidiary of Bell Canada last August, is to report fourth-quarter results on Monday.
Copyright ¸ 1999 The Globe and Mail |
