CMGI sells Raging Bull to TRLY:
boston.internet.com
Terra Lycos Bullish on Raging Bull
By David Aponovich
Terra Lycos is dipping into its bountiful cash reserves to pick up financial news and investment
Web site Raging Bull of Andover, Mass., from CMGI-owned AltaVista.
Waltham, Mass.-based Terra Lycos (NASDAQ:TRLY), the growing Internet portal, paid an
unspecified amount of cash to acquire the site from retrenching AltaVista, the Palo Alto-based
search engine that has been slashing jobs to conserve cash.
Two weeks ago AltaVista cut 200 jobs, a quarter of its staff, following cuts of 225 jobs last
September and 60 last May. It also pulled its IPO earlier this month.
Terra Lycos, meanwhile, is on the upswing. The company that resulted from the $4.6 billion
merger of Lycos and Terra Networks has about $3 billion in cash, which analysts have been
waiting for the company to spend on its growing network of Web sites. In addition to Raging
Bull, Terra Lycos said Tuesday it had acquired Iberwap, a Spanish provider of digital mapping
services and content on the Web, for an undisclosed sum.
It also recently acquired a 60 percent stake in Buenos Aires-based online employment
marketplace Bumeran.com and took a majority stake in the bargain travel site OneTravel.
Raging Bull gives Terra Lycos a new financial site featuring news, opinions and discussion forums
attracting 2 million unique monthly visitors who register 200 million page views.
Terra Lycos says it likes the advertising revenue potential from the site, calling financial services
the "hottest online advertising sector." Visitors to Raging Bull spend an average of 100 minutes
per month at the site.
"This acquisition is a strong illustration of how we can leverage our sizeable cash position to fulfill
our mission to be the most visited online destination in the world," according to Bob Davis, CEO
of Terra Lycos.
Davis said Raging Bull will be integrated with other Terra Lycos financial sites, Quote.com and
Invertia.com. Raging Bull's site now carries a Lycos Network logo. |
