Re: Buy.com IPO. Thanks, Edwin. Softbank's been my largest holding since the day I found out how to get an odd lot. And I've never sold. I married Softbank with a "'till death do you part" plan, or at least the famous "300-year" committment. Though too bad my portfolio overall is quite small (hey, I'm only 24, give me time) otherwise I would not only have a Hawaiian tan, but would also have enough $ to buy at least a couple Hawaiian islands, maybe Molokai, Niihau, Lanai, and Kauai. Or maybe my old hometown of Mililani, on Oahu.
I'm not too hot on Buy.com (I actually like Webvan quite a bit more than Buy.com, even though I have reservations about Webvan. speaking of which, i wonder how closely those 2 softbank affiliates will work together?). Sounds pretty creepy that they'll sell products at near-zero or negative margins and hope to generate a lot of volume and generate cross-selling revenues. The scary part is the boilerplate strategy "well, we'll make the difference up in advertising.". hmm.
Along with holdings in strong companies like EGRP and especially YHOO, Softbank shall do will with many of their other large stakes and the countless small stakes they have in the likes of Intertrust, Andromedia/Macromedia, and Art Technology. I wonder if they have a stake in Yodlee.com yet, Bill Burnham has been waxing rhapsodic about them for as far as I can remember...
As I wrote Friday ("CNET Acquires MySimon for $700 Million")
news.morningstar.com
"...This growing lead-generation business lessens CNET's dependence on banner-ad revenues, the sole crutch for many content sites. It also avoids the margin-destroying pitfalls faced by e-commerce retailers such as Amazon.com: the logistical nightmares of inventory management and physical distribution."
Sure, consumers will leverage the power of the internet to find the lowest prices (and the best values) around. So help them find that. But should you also get your hands dirty with the products rather than consign them? I think Buy.com's business model can't hold a candle to CNET's, no matter how much cash SFTBF pumps into it...
- Netconductor.com
>>Edwin Fujinaka wrote:
Net,...Don't stay away too long or we will be working on our tans somewhere in the Hawaiian Islands when you
get back. We've enjoyed following your quest for that odd lot of Softbank into your new job at Morningstar.
Softbank closed here in the US at $815 (down $5). This might be a good time to get in here except for the
following caution.
I just heard (again) about the upcoming IPO for BUY.COM. It was mentioned in connection with an Amazon
search for new money. You may recall that Softbank owns around 31% of BUY.COM. Softbank paid $165
million for their 31% stake. Amazon has a market cap of over $20 billion even at it's currently depressed price.
Amazon's sales for 1999 will be around $1.5 billion and it looks like their losses will be around 40% of revenues! I
just hope that BUY.COM can come to market before Amazon collapses. A potential Amazon debacle could
trigger the long awaited implosion in the internet sector. The prospect is a little scary even for as solid a company as
Softbank. |
