CMGI: AltaVista to file for IPO
By Bloomberg News
Special to CNET News.com
September 27, 1999, 4:15 p.m. PT
ANDOVER, Massachusetts--Internet venture fund CMGI said it expects
Web search service AltaVista to go public in January, less than six
months after CMGI bought a majority stake in the service from Compaq
Computer.
AltaVista will file for an initial public offering after CMGI's fiscal first quarter,
which ends October 31, CMGI
chairman David Wetherell said on
a conference call. CMGI completed
its $2.3 billion purchase of a
majority stake in AltaVista in
August.
Andover, Massachusetts-based
CMGI invests in Internet and
software companies through several
funds with the goal of taking them
public or selling them for a large
gain to other investors.
Before its sale to CMGI, Compaq
had plans to take the search service
public as a way to profit from the
Internet boom.
Shares of CMGI rose 8.31 to 93.13. The company made the AltaVista
announcement and reported its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the close
of U.S. markets.
In addition, CMGI said it will create four new venture funds, including one in
Europe and one in Asia, so that it can invest in more technology companies.
CMGI will work with partners in Asia and Europe to create funds there,
Wetherell said. The company will create a third fund for investing in
e-commerce companies and a fourth to invest in other Internet start-ups, he
added.
Copyright 1999, Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.
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