VerticalNet Says It Has No Interest in
Ventro
By Joe Bousquin
Staff Reporter
9/12/00 9:29 PM ET
On a day when the rumors about J.P. Morgan
(JPM:NYSE - news) being acquired were all but
confirmed, another talked about deal was dismissed by
one of the main purported participants.
VerticalNet (VERT:Nasdaq - news), the Horsham,
Pa.-based company that runs Internet communities for
industry professionals, said Tuesday evening that it's not
in talks to buy Ventro (VNTR:Nasdaq - news), which
runs online exchanges in the life-sciences and health
industries.
The announcement came after days of speculation
about a deal, which pushed up Ventro's stock and of
course pushed down VerticalNet's. (TSC wrote about
the speculation last week.)
VerticalNet "is not, and has not been, in any
discussions with Ventro Corporation regarding a
possible merger or other business combination," the
company said in a statement. It also said it would
continue to maintain its "a policy of not commenting on
rumors of any kind," which seemed a bit contradictory
given the subject of its release.
The company said it was making the statement
because "in recent days there have been media reports
and repeated requests to the company for information as
to whether such discussions were taking place."
The rumors were fueled in part by the fact that Ventro
canceled a planned day for analysts and a presentation
at the Robertson Stephens Internet Conference,
both which raised questions about whether the company
was up to something.
In addition, there was a Sept. 8 tongue-in-cheek article
about possible B2B mergers penned by columnist Adam
Feuerstein on Upside.com.
"While we're on the subject of merger rumors, let's end
with a whopper and chat about Ventro," Feuerstein
wrote. "Hell, why not make a prediction (or a
suggestion): Ventro is going to merge with VerticalNet." |
