Send this to CNBC and ask them why they are not running the story. I did...lets load their email box
email address- Info@CNBC.COM.
AOL,GE,Softbank in Net2PhoneIPO IDT lists industry heavies as principalstockholders By Steve Gelsi, CBS MarketWatchLast Update: 8:29 PM ET May 18, 1999NewsWatch HACKENSACK, N.J.(CBS.MW) -- America Online, GECapital and Softbank are among the principal stockholders ina $50 million IPO filed late Tuesday by IDT Corp. for itsNet2Phone Internet telephony unit. The listed underwriters are Hambrecht & Quist, BT Alex.Brown and Bear Stearns. IDT (IDTC: news, msgs) will own 66.2percent of Net2Phone or 27.6 millionshares; Softbank will be the second largeststockholder with 10.8 percent or 4.6million shares. Net2Phone Chairman and PresidentClifford Sobel will own 8 percent or 3.3million shares. America Online (AOL:news, msgs) and GE Capital will eachown 5.4 percent or 2.3 million shares. The percentages are based on 41.7 millionshares including 4.7 million shares of common stock, 27.6million shares of Class A stock and 9.4 million shares ofClass A common stock issueable upon conversion of theSeries A preferred stock at the same date. America Online, Softbank , and GE Capital spokespersonsdid not return phone calls. An IDT official declined tocomment. Shares of IDT Corp. fell 15/16 to 27 1/4on Tuesday. The Net2Phone IPO has been anticipatedfor months. On April 9, shares of IDTjumped 29.4 percent afterCBS.MarketWatch.com reported thatSoftbank was in talks to invest inNet2Phone. See related story. Softbank, whose shares trade in Tokyounder the symbol "SFTBF," owns about28 percent of Yahoo (YHOO: news,msgs). Gary Rieschel, executivemanaging director of SoftbankTechnology Ventures, is expected tobecome a director of the Net2Phonebefore the consummation of the offering,according to the company's filing with theSecurities and Exchange Commission. Net2Phone touts long distance phoneservice that's cheaper than traditionalcalling. International calls are typically50- to 70 percent cheaper, the company said. GE Capital is a unit of General Electric, which moved May10 to form NBC Internet in a three-way merger withXoom.com (XMCM: news, msgs), NBC unit and CNet's(CNET: news, msgs) Snap.com. See related story. Net2Phone Net2Phone already has contracts with America Online unitNetscape, ZDNet (ZD: news, msgs) Yahoo, Excite [xcit],and InfoSpace.com. Net2Phone served about 250,000 active customers and ishandling more than 20 million minutes of use per month asof March 31, the company said in the filing. Revenue for the six months of fiscal 1999 was $13.2million, up from $12 million in all of fiscal 1998. Thecompany had 174 full-time employees as of May 12. International Data Corp. projects an Internet telephonymarket of $23.4 billion by 2003. Marketing plans The company said it'll embed its software in future versionsof Netscape's Internet browser. A Net2Phone icon will be"prominently positioned" next to AOL's Instant Messengericon on the Netscape Navigator Tool Bar. "We intend to build upon these relationships and enter intonew distribution relationships with other leading companiesin order to enhance the distribution of our softwareworldwide," the company said. It's also launching a new product called PC2PC, which willprovide high-quality Internet telephony from one personalcomputer to another. It'll allow two participants in an online chat room discussionto establish direct voice communication with each otherwhile maintaining anonymity.
Net2Phone Inc. files for $50 mln IPO
Reuters, Tuesday, May 18, 1999 at 21:08
WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - Net2Phone Inc., whose
services allow customers to make telephone calls over the
Internet using personal computers or traditional phones, said
Tuesday it planned to raise $50 million in an initial public
offering of its common stock.
The company, based in Hackensack, N.J., did not disclose
the number of shares in the offering or provide an estimated
price range for them in its preliminary filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
It has applied to trade the shares on Nasdaq under the
symbol (NASDAQ:NTOP). The underwriters for the IPO are Hambrecht &
Quist, BT Alex. Brown and Bear Stearns.
Net2Phone was the largest provider of Internet telephony
services in the world in 1997 with a 30 percent market share,
said the company, citing statistics by a leading market
research firm.
As of March 31, Net2Phone had about 250,000 active
customers and handled over 20 million minutes of use per month.
The company said its revenues grew to $12 million in the
fiscal year ended July 31, 1998, from $2.7 million in the
fiscal year ended July 31, 1997. For the six months ended Jan.
31, 1999, revenues hit $13.2 million.
It is a unit of IDT Corp. (NASDAQ:IDTC), a provider of long-
distance telephone, Internet access and Internet telephony
services in the United States and abroad.
Following the offering, IDT will own an undisclosed
percentage of Net2Phone's outstanding capital stock. It already
owns "Class A" stock that has twice the voting power of
Net2Phone's common stock, the filing said.
Net proceeds from the offering will be used to repay a
portion of a note outstanding to IDT, develop strategic
Internet relationships, for advertising and promotion, research
and development and general corporate purposes.
Copyright 1999, Reuters News Service
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COMTEX) B: Executive Business Briefing
B: Executive Business Briefing
Here's a look at the hour's top business stories:
Tyco International will buy Raychem Corporation for $2.87 billion...
$37 a share. The deal will involve about $1.4 billion in cash and over
16 million new shares of Tyco. Raychem is an international designer,
manufacturer, and distributor of high-performance electronics products.
30-year T-bills were especially popular after yesterday's hint from the
Federal Reserve that it might hike interest rates within a few months.
Analysts expect a quarter-point increase by fall. A sell-off of 2-year
and 5-year bonds is expected.
IDT Corporation has filed an initial public offering for its Net2Phone
unit. Net2Phone uses the Internet to make phone calls. The IPO says the
principal stockholders in the $50 million offering are America Online,
GE Capital, and Softbank. IDT would retain 66.2 percent of Net2Phone.
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