ecommercetimes.com
Explosive Internet Growth and Innovations Focus of Conference
By Robert Conlin
E-Commerce Times
August 2, 1999
Leading Internet investment bank BancBoston Robertson Stephens is banking on drawing a crowd as it unveils its 1999 Investing in Innovations Conference today in San Francisco.
The bank, a subsidiary of BankBoston (NYSE: BKB), is co-sponsoring the conference with the consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, and Red Herring. Some 200 CEOs and CFOs from leading technology companies are expected to join 1,500 investors in the swank rooms and hallways of the Ritz Carlton Hotel for the three-day event.
"The growth of the Internet has been explosive," said the bank's president, Bob Emery. "Robertson Stephens was one of the first investment banks to recognize the power and the promise of this medium. The Investing in Innovations Conference provides an opportunity for investors to participate in the exchange of insights, ideas and information."
BancBoston Robertson Stephens will trot out 10 of its leading analysts to moderate discussions on Internet-related categories, including e-commerce, online security, networking and other subjects.
Given the expected guest list of the event, and the turbo-charged climate of the industry now, discussions are bound to get lively.
An Industry Veteran
BancBoston Robertson Stephens has earned its veteran stripes in an industry that counts weeks as an eternity. The firm was founded in 1978 and keyed its attention to emerging technology early on.
Since its founding it has raised over $52 billion (US$) in IPOs and assisted in mergers, as well as acquisitions, valued at more than $77 billion. It's been ranked the number one underwriter of emerging growth equity offerings since 1992, and is currently ranked as the number one firm in lead-managed Internet IPOs for the first half of 1999.
The firm says it has served as the strategic advisor on eight of the top 12 Internet mergers and acquisitions, including the $7.5 billion WebMD and Healtheon deal and the $6.7 billion merger between Excite and @Home.
Monday, BancBoston Robertson Stephens reported that revenues for the first half of 1999 were a record $388 million, up 87 percent from the same period last year. |
