CLOWNS.. this one for you.BVSN. high-seven figures deal. New's just hit the Wire
UPDATE 1-BroadVision nails 3-year deal with ABN AMRO
03-13 0505 UPDATE 1-BroadVision nails 3-year deal with ABN AMRO (Adds stock price, byline) By Ilaina Jonas NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - BroadVision Inc. (BVSN <priv-qcn.asp?symb=BVSN>), maker of software that allows companies to manage their Web pages and personalize them for customers, on Tuesday said it struck a deal with ABN AMRO (AAH <priv-qcn.asp?symb=AAH>) to help the Dutch banking giant improve its Web site's ability to sell to customers. The three-year licensing agreement, worth in the "high-seven figures," will allow Amro to cut its number of Web sites worldwide to six from 250, BroadVision Chief Marketing Officer Chris Grejtak said. To do this, ABN AMRO will employ BroadVision's suite of electronic business applications. It includes software that allows the bank to personalize Web sites for each customer and another that analyzes the customer's activities so it can target additional products to them. The suite also includes an application ABN AMRO will use to target retail customers, another for business-to-business activities and another just for the financial industry. The banking group will make these applications available to its business units and associated banking institutions around the world, the companies said. Additionally ABN AMRO intends to use the application to develop personalized financial services delivered to customers via the Internet and wireless devices. "BroadVision remains the leader for people who want out-of-the-box functionality and then once it's installed, the installer goes home," said Legg Mason analyst Paul Krieg. Krieg maintains a buy rating on BroadVision. He said the deal would not prompt him to change his financial forecasts for BroadVision's current quarter. Under the arrangement, Redwood City, Calif.-based BroadVison along with Hewlett-Packard Co. (HWP <priv-qcn.asp?symb=HWP>) and PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Consultants will open a global support office devoted exclusively to ABN AMRO in Amsterdam. The three-year license deal will take about 18 months to complete and BroadVision will recognize the revenue as the projects are completed. The business-to-business portal is now underway in Chicago and is expected to be up and running in about 12 weeks. "There's a tremendous reduction of IT (information technology)," Grejtak said. The other two main players in the market for software companies use to sell their goods and services over the Internet are Art Technology Group Inc. (ARTG <priv-qcn.asp?symb=ARTG>) and Vignette Corp. (VIGN <priv-qcn.asp?symb=VIGN>). All three companies have their strengths and weaknesses, Krieg said. "My sense of the competitive landscape is I think BroadVision remains very strong in one of the components of the broader market," Krieg said. He noted that other competitors such as H-P and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW <priv-qcn.asp?symb=SUNW>) are entering the market. Eventually, the market will boil down to two or maybe three key players, he said. Shares of BroadVision closed up 17/32, or nearly 10 percent, at $6-1/16 on Nasdaq. Rtr 16:41 03-13-01 Copyright 2001, Reuters News Service AAH 21.00 +0.06
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