Hi Dorine, Can you check this out when you and Herb go to Paris? :)Leigh
quote.bloomberg.com
"MultiMania hopes to make an increasing share of sales from e-commerce, as it recently introduced links to companies such as Travelprice.com, Pinault- Printemps-Redoute SA's 3Suisse and Dell Computer Corp. for the sale of books, travel and other products."
MultiMania, French Web Site, IPO to Raise as Much as EU68 Mln.
By Lori Brumat
Paris, March 2 (Bloomberg) -- MultiMania, a French free
Internet community site, said it plans to raise as much as 68
million euros ($66 million) in an initial public offering on
France's Nouveau Marche.
MultiMania is selling 1.56 million new shares at between 31
euros and 36 euros, valuing the company at as much as 238 million
euros. Managers of IPO can sell another 15 percent of the company
if demands warrants.
Paris-based MultiMania is selling shares at the same time as
rival Liberty Surf Groupe SA, which has a value 15 times higher.
They're competing to capture a slice of growing Web usage in
France, where only 8 percent of people use the Internet, according
to Fletcher Research. That's about half the figure for Germany.
``There's a craze for Internet stocks,' said Derric Marcon,
an analyst at ING Barings Ferri. He expects ``these IPOs will do
well' as there still aren't too many Internet public companies in
France.
France Telecom SA said yesterday it may sell shares in its
Wanadoo Internet unit, the country's biggest Web provider.
Investor interest in Internet-related shares has helped more
than double the technology-laden Nouveau Marche index this year.
The CAC-40 benchmark index has only climbed about 6 percent.
Merrill Lynch, which is managing the MultiMania offering
along with Banque Nationale de Paris SA, will take orders from
today until March 7. Shares begin trading the following day.
Loyalty Helps
MultiMania is reserving a quarter of the 20 percent of shares
it's selling for subscribers to its site. Members who registered
at MultiMania before Feb. 29 will be able to order as many as 100
shares each, the company said.
``Our growth is linked to the loyalty of our members,' said
Finance Director Philippe Lobet. ``We wanted to give them a chance
to become shareholders.'
MultiMania, which claims 360,000 subscribers, has about half
the number of users as Liberty Surf. Both trail France Telecom
SA's Wanadoo, which says it has 1.2 million subscribers.
MultiMania employees about 50 people.
MultiMania allows users to create their own Web pages, send
electronic post-cards, create an e-mail address and chat live with
other users. Liberty Surf provides Internet access to its
subscribers.
MultiMania, which plans to break even within two years, will
use the proceeds to fund the development of new services, increase
its visibility and have stock to offer to potential allies.
``If we want to be in the top five Francophone or European
Web sites we need a broad recognition and to sign strategic
agreements with several actors,' said Lobet.
Projections
The company projects 2000 sales will rise to 33 million
francs ($4.9 million), of which 24 million francs will be
advertising revenue and 9 million francs from e-commerce. Last
year, it posted sales of 9.1 million francs.
MultiMania hopes to make an increasing share of sales from e-
commerce, as it recently introduced links to companies such as
Travelprice.com, Pinault- Printemps-Redoute SA's 3Suisse and Dell
Computer Corp. for the sale of books, travel and other products.
It's also creating a 50-50 joint venture with the French
division of Akabi, a company that allows users make group
purchases over the Internet to lower the acquisition cost.
MultiMania will buy 40 percent of The Netherlands-based Akabi,
Lobet said.
MultiMania's five individual founders hold about 20 percent
of the company. Three French venture capital funds and Intel Corp.
own the rest.
MultiMania's original investors put about 78 million francs
into the company since its inception in 1995, Lobet said. |
