Dav,
Thaanks to DLJ for letting me have the IPO...buying at 20 was very nice...I would imagine trading at 50 in no time...check out the news today...
By Gilles Castonguay
NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) - DLJdirect <DIR.N>, the online
broker of Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette <DLJ.N> that went public
on Tuesday, plans to acquire a rival or another company that
would strengthen its position in the highly competitive
business.
DLJdirect Chief Executive Blake Darcy told Reuters on
Wednesday the unit of the investment bank was looking to make a
deal in the second half of the year.
Potential targets include "other online brokerage firms, or
content companies, or possibly a technology company," he said.
"We will be looking at those opportunities down the road."
DLJdirect stock rose by about 30 percent on its first day
of trading on heavy volume on the New York Stock Exchange. The
shares, were priced at $20 a piece late Tuesday, were up 6-1/8
at 26-1/8 early Wednesday afternoon, placing the unit among the
most actively traded and leading percentage gainers.
The surge in price was nevertheless seen as a relative
disappointment, given how previous Internet issues had seen
their prices double or triple on their first day.
But Darcy said he was not worried about having made the
offering at a time when Internet initial public offerings had
not met the same investor enthusiasm as they had in the past.
"The fact that we could bring it out publicly amid a weak
market for Internet stocks is an indication of company (and its
strengths)," he said. "It would have been nice to have a bigger
start, but -- in the long term -- it doesn't matter."
The offering of 16 million shares, representing 16 percent
in the country's seventh largest online broker, raised more
than $320 million, valuing the entire unit at more than $2
billion.
Darcy said DLJdirect would spend $50 million of that amount
to "dramatically" increase its marketing campaign.
He said DLJ raised the price range for the offering by $5 a
share and the amount of shares by 1 million because of the
demand it had received from retail and institutional investors.
DLJ made the increases with no explanation on Friday.
Darcy said DLJ had no immediate plans to offer a greater
stake in the online brokerage firm, which serves wealthy
individuals with more than $100,000 to invest.
"DLJ feels very strongly that it is a strong part of its
business," he said.
After much internal wrangling, DLJ created a so-called
tracking stock for DLJdirect, which would track the performance
of the unit but leave the investment bank in control of it.
Darcy also said DLJdirect planned to start offering its
services in Great Britain next month and then in Japan.
He said it did not expect those markets to become
significant revenue generators for at least two or three years.
"Internet penetration is less than here in the U.S. and stock
ownership is lower," he said. "(But it's) important to get an
early start."
DLJdirect was looking at eventually doing the same in
Canada, France, Germany, and Hong Kong, he said.
The unit would widen its reach in those countries, seeking
the business of mass market customers as well as wealthy
individuals since their online trading markets were not as
developed as that of the United States, he said.
REUTERS
Rtr 17:31 05-26-99
Copyright 1999, Reuters News Service
Copyright © 1997 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication
or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without
the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable
for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken
in reliance thereon. or such other notice as may be agreed by
the parties in writing. |
