oom.com to partner with Snap, NBC
By Thom Calandra, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 8:24 AM ET May 10, 1999
StockWatch Chat
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Xoom.com Inc., the community Web site, will announce
it is merging in a three-way transaction with CNET's Snap Internet service and assets owned
by General Electric's NBC.
The San Francisco-based Xoom (XMCM: news, msgs), which
just raised $130 million in a secondary stock offering on Nasdaq,
will represent a third of the new company, which will trade as a
new security, executives close to the transaction said.
The announcement of the stock and asset transaction will come
Monday morning.
NBC (GE: news, msgs) already owns a stake in CNET's Snap
service. The transaction gives Snap (CNET: news, msgs) a
distribution network of millions of Xoom subscribers, who use
Xoom to build free Web sites.
Snap sees itself as a gateway to sophisticated Web content. NBC,
meanwhile, has been eager to reach more viewers with its
television and Internet programming, which includes the financial
channel CNBC.
Xoom shares rose 10 percent Friday. Sources close to the
transaction said the new security is expected to trade at 20 to 25
times year 2000 sales. Executives close to the transaction said
they expect Xoom shareholders to receive a premium for their
stock in this stock and asset swap.
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