NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Kushner-Locke Co. (KLOC) stock climbed 16.4% Friday,its second double-digit rise is as many days, but a company official said she was unaware of any reason for the activity. Shares of the Los Angeles company moved recently at 9, up 1, or 12.5%, on Nasdaq volume of 1.6 million, compared with the daily average of 488,042. On Wednesday, the stock rose 13/16, or 11.3%. But an Internet-stock analyst familiar with the company attributed the
two-day gains to investors encouraged by U.S. Search, Kushner-Locke's 80%-owned Web-based database search business. The Web site - designed to locate individuals by searching public-record databases - has the potential to become a public-record portal company, this person said. "The U.S. Search division itself is probably worth $50 a share," said the analyst, who is also a Kushner-Locke stockholder. According to the analyst, the company could, as early as the second quarter, spin off U.S. Search through an initial public offering.
In December, Kushner-Locke said in its 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that, to fund expansion of U.S. Search, it was "contemplating raising additional capital" through either a private placement or IPO. Company spokeswoman Maili Bergman, however, said management had made no decision about the status of U.S. Search. She declined to comment on speculation that the division could go public in the second quarter.
(MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 02-19-99
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