CMGI Launches New B2B Venture Fund
New @Ventures Fund to Build on Successful B2B Track Record
ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 22, 1999--CMGI Inc., (NASDAQ:CMGI - news) today announced the launch of the CMGI @Ventures B2B Fund, a new venture fund to be focused exclusively on business-to-business Internet venture capital investments. The fund is expected to reach up to $1 billion in capital.
The new fund will significantly build on the successes of the current @Ventures funds and their strong track record in B2B investments. Nearly two-thirds of the companies in the current @Ventures portfolio operate in the business-to-business arena, including B2B pure-play companies such as Chemdex (NASDAQ: CMDX - news), Silknet (NASDAQ:SILK - news), Promedix.com (now a division of Chemdex), Intelligent/Digital, BizBuyer.com and OneCore.com.
To be managed by the current team of @Ventures partners, the CMGI @Ventures B2B Fund will have CMGI as its sole limited investor, leveraging the extensive business-to-business and business-to-consumer experience of the @Ventures team.
To date, @Ventures has made more than 50 Internet venture capital investments. Its track record includes five successful Internet IPOs (Lycos, GeoCities, Silknet, Chemdex and Critical Path), seven strategic company sales, and three companies currently in the IPO process (MotherNature.com, Furniture.com and Vicinity).
Today's news marks just the latest in a series of recent announcements from CMGI, including $4 billion in acquisitions and 15 venture investments over the past 90 days. Commenting on the announcement, David Wetherell, CMGI Chairman and CEO said, ``This is a natural extension of our expertise and allows us the latitude of deeper investment into the B2B arena. We continue to believe that the B2B market will be a major growth sector of the Internet economy, and one which we are poised to further leverage within the CMGI Network.'
Peter Mills, Managing Partner, @Ventures said, ``Our successful track record in Internet investment speaks for itself. Business-to-business is a logical segment for us to further extend our expertise.'
About CMGI and @Ventures
With more than 50 companies, CMGI, Inc. (Nasdaq:CMGI - news) represents the largest, most diverse network of Internet companies in the world. This network includes both CMGI operating companies and a growing number of synergistic investments through its venture capital affiliate, @Ventures. CMGI leverages the technologies, content, and market reach of its extended family of companies to foster rapid growth and industry leadership across its network, and the larger Internet Economy. Compaq, Intel, Microsoft and Sumitomo hold minority positions in CMGI.
CMGI's majority-owned operating companies include Engage Technologies (Nasdaq:ENGA - news), NaviSite (Nasdaq:NAVI - news), 1ClickBrands, 1stUp.com, Activate.net, Activerse, Adsmart, AltaVista, iCAST, Magnitude Network, MyWay.com, NaviNet, SalesLink and ZineZone. The company's @Ventures affiliates have ownership interests in Lycos, Inc. (Nasdaq:LCOS - news), Critical Path (Nasdaq:CPTH - news), Silknet (Nasdaq:SILK - news), Chemdex (Nasdaq:CMDX - news), Ancestry.com, Asimba.com, AuctionWatch.com, Aureate Media, blaxxun, BizBuyer.com, Boatscape.com, buyingedge.com, CarParts.com, CraftShop.com, eCircles.com, EXP.com, FindLaw, Furniture.com, HotLinks, INPHO/HomePriceCheck.com, Intelligent/Digital, KOZ.com, Mondera.com, MotherNature.com, NextMonet.com, NextPlanetOver.com, OneCore.com, ONElist, PlanetOutdoors.com, Productopia, Raging Bull, Speech Machines, ThingWorld.com, Vicinity, Virtual Ink, Visto, Vstore and WebCT.
CMGI Corporate headquarters is located at 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA 01810. Telephone: 978-684-3600. Fax: 978-684-3814. Additional information is available on the company's Web site at cmgi.com. |
