BancBoston Robertson Stephens Expands Internet Equity Research Coverage to Include "B2B" -- Firm Names B2B Research and Banking Teams --
SAN FRANCISCO, Sep 29, 1999 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- BancBoston Robertson
Stephens today announced that it has expanded its Internet equity
research coverage and has named Managing Director Eric Upin as the
firm's senior business-to-business "B2B" eCommerce analyst.
Upin, who previously covered the enterprise application software
sector, begins coverage of the B2B sector today, initiating coverage on
VerticalNet (NASDAQ: VERT) and reinitiating coverage on Chemdex
(NASDAQ: CMDX) and Internet Capital Group (NASDAQ: ICGE). The firm also
named Robert E. Grady, managing director and a member of the firm's
management and commitment committees, to lead the eCommerce investment
banking practice.
Already covering nine sectors in the Internet space, B2B represents the
latest Internet sector coverage by the firm. With 15 senior equity
research analysts dedicated to the Internet, BancBoston Robertson
Stephens provides the deepest and broadest senior research coverage on
the different Internet sectors, including business-to-business
eCommerce, eBusiness Software, eCommerce Services, eFinance, eHealth,
eMarketing, eNetworking Software/Enablers, ePayments, eServices, and
eTailing.
"B2B is a huge investment opportunity - perhaps 10 times the size of
the business-to-consumer economy so we are devoting a top research and
investment banking team to tackle this segment," said BancBoston
Robertson Stephens CEO Mike McCaffery. "This is another demonstration
of our strategy of deep focus on the Internet and eCommerce. We
continue to build the deepest eCommerce bench on Wall Street in both
Research and Investment Banking."
"We believe B2B companies represent the next major stage of Internet
growth and stock appreciation substantially eclipsing the
business-to-consumer space by several orders of magnitude," said Upin.
"In our opinion, we are approaching an inflection point - where
Internet infrastructure and models, IT systems, and broad market
factors are setting the stage for rapid expansion. B2B trade vastly
exceeds consumer transactions, accounting for 85 percent of total
commerce in the United States. Assuming 10 percent of B2B transactions
move online by 2003, the implied market opportunity is $1.7 trillion in
the next four years. Globally, that figure could more than double."
To support this rapidly growing sector, the firm has dedicated a team
of analysts and investment bankers to the B2B eCommerce space.
-- In addition to Upin, the B2B eCommerce team will include Research
Analyst Jon Ekoniak and Research Associate Carey Jennings.
-- In addition to Grady, the B2B investment banking team will
include Vice President George Bischof, who will run the West
Coast practice, and Vice President Peter Falvey, who will run the
East Coast practice.
Upin is a managing director and senior equity research analyst who
joined BancBoston Robertson Stephens seven years ago. Previously, he
was a consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton. He is a graduate of
Washington University in St. Louis and of the Harvard Business School.
Upin was the first analyst on Wall Street to carve out a specialized
practice in enterprise applications software.
Grady is a managing director in Investment Banking who has served as
BancBoston Robertson Stephens' lead investment banker on over 100
financing and M&A transactions. Since joining the firm in 1993, he has
directed its Business Services and Applied Technology, its Consumer and
Retailing and its Financial Sponsors Groups. Previously, he served in
the White House as Deputy Assistant to President George Bush and as
Executive Associate Director of the White House Office of Management
and Budget. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Business
School, and he currently serves as a Lecturer in Public Management at
Stanford Business School.
In 1999, BancBoston Robertson Stephens has completed seven of the 10
largest Internet M&A transactions, including the $7.9 billion Web
MD/Healtheon merger, the $6.7 billion Excite@Home merger, and the $2.3
billion CMGI/Alta Vista merger. In addition, according to a survey
conducted by Hale and Dorr, BancBoston Robertson Stephens was ranked
the number one investment bank for lead-managed Internet IPOs during
the first half of 1999.
BancBoston Robertson Stephens is the leading full-service investment
bank focused exclusively on growth companies. To date in 1999, the firm
has completed over 130 offerings, raising more than $24 billion in
capital for clients. The firm's 47 research analysts cover nearly 700
companies.
Founded in 1978, BancBoston Robertson Stephens is the section 20
subsidiary of BankBoston Corporation (NYSE: BKB). Together, BancBoston
Robertson Stephens, BancBoston Robertson Stephens International, and
Evergreen Securities Ltd. employ 1,000 employees throughout the world
with offices in Boston, San Francisco, New York, Menlo Park, Chicago,
London, and Tel Aviv. For more information about the firm, please visit
our Web site at www.rsco.com.
Copyright (C) 1999 Business Wire. All rights reserved. |
