I Like OZEMY A Lot... Almost Took A Flyer On Them About...
Four months ago. Kind've wish I had now. Also, wanted to
throw this CBS Marketwatch summary of XCIT's busy day out
there... Note the little slam against the DIS/SEEK deal. Though
I don't think XCIT showed a "strong hand" in its negotations with
NSCP.
*******
Excite Looks to Hollywood for Help
In the wake of competitor online service Infoseek (SEEK) partnering
with the Walt Disney Co. (DIS), Excite (XCIT) made a move Monday to add to its board the counsel and advice of one of tinsel town's top
deal makers, Jeffrey Berg. He is chair and chief executive officer of
International Creative Management, a talent and literary agency
representing clients in the fields of publishing, motion pictures,
television, music, theater, and news and public affairs.
Berg's involvement with Excite is seen as a clear sign that "ours is a
consumer mass media type of business," said Excite's senior vice
president and c0founder, Joe Kraus. "It may not have seemed that way a year and a half ago," he told CBS.MarketWatch.com, "but now 3 million
people a day visit our site, which is more than get The Wall Street
Journal. Twenty million unique visitors come to Excite each month. "
Kraus said Excite is becoming a mass consumer business, too. "One big
part of that is understanding how the mass consumer uses media and
interacts with creative talent. Berg will be able to give us lessons
on how to grow." Kraus gave no indication that the addition of Berg to
the company's board was in reaction to the recent other media
companies' moves online, including the Infoseek/Disney deal and NBC's
purchase of an interest in CNet (CNWK). "Excite is in a strong
position," Kraus said. "Perhaps a company like Infoseek needed a deal like that. We are fortunate enough to be able to hold our cards and make deals that make sense."
In stock trading Monday, shares of Excite gained 9 7/8, or 13 percent, to close at 85 7/8 after the company announced a two-for-one stock
split effective July 6. Shares of other search engines also rose.
Lycos (LCOS) gained 7 7/8 to 74 3/8; Yahoo, 5 3/4 to 154 7/16, and
Infoseek, 1 11/16 to 35 7/16.
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