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Technology Stocks : Internet Capital Group Inc. (ICGE) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kip who wrote (80)	8/2/1999 5:08:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4187

Internet Capital IPO seen luring investors NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Venture firm Internet Capital Group Inc. should have no trouble wooing investors with its initial public offering this week because of its focus on business-to-business Internet companies, analysts said. Internet Capital Group (Nasdaq:ICGE - news), which has interests in about 35 e-commerce firms, is set to offer 13.25 million shares, or about a 12 percent stake, in a range of $10 to $12 each on Aug 5 through underwriters led by Merrill Lynch. Analysts said the company's business model was similar to the one used Internet venture firm CMGI Inc. (Nasdaq:CMGI - news), but would be focused on the business-to-business market rather than the business-to-consumer market. ''Internet business-to-business e-commerce firms are growing like wildflowers. Given the market success of CMGI, the novelty of this business model and the valuation strength of business- to-business e-commerce firms, we believe this offering will be warmly received,'' said Irv DeGraw, research director at WorldFinanceNet.com, in a weekly note. VerticalNet Inc. (Nasdaq:VERT - news), which was launched at $16 and closed Monday at $81, was one of the companies in which Internet Capital had invested. The Wayne, Pa.-based company's shareholders include Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news) and Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq:CMCSA - news) International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - news) Corp. is also an investor, while Safeguard Scientifics Inc. (NYSE:SFE - news) owns about 20 percent. Internet Capital posted total revenues of $3.1 million for the first three months ended March 1999. Net income for the period including gains from VerticalNet's IPO was $20 million. ''Internet Capital Group has a terrific portfolio of private companies in the Internet space. Our initial investment in ICG was to participate in the Internet gold rush,'' said Harry Wallaesa, president of Safeguard. The recent surge seen by IPOs was partially due to the absence of a lot of product in the market, he added. ''This is the most important technological wave seen in our lifetimes and we are just starting to see the first impact of this technology on the way we live. I think (the sharp gains in IPOs) are because there is a lack of product and so much money,'' Wallaesa said. Recent market volatility has not deterred the flow of deals as this week tentatively calls for more than 20 IPOs. ''I don't think the window is closing on opportunity in the Internet market. Those that are beginning to make money have an advantage (if there is a market downturn) as do those that have sizable and strategic partners,'' Wallaesa added. biz.yahoo.com