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Technology Stocks : Softbank Group Corp -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Edwin S. Fujinaka who wrote (1971)	9/30/1999 5:15:00 PM
From: Jonas1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6018

Softbank Capital and B2B: A number of posters were expressing advice to Softbank for focus more on B2B. Softbank Capital, at least, is apparently already doing so. From a story in Bloomberg today: quote.bloomberg.com "...said Bill Burnham, general partner of venture capital firm Softbank Capital Partners..." "Burnham also said he expects to invest $1.25 billion of his current venture capital fund by year's end. He expects to raise as much as $2 billion to start a new fund by the end of March. Softbank Capital aims to invest 20 percent to 30 percent in Internet companies which are global in reach and No. 1 in their markets. The three areas that interest the firm are e-commerce Internet companies, especially business-to-business outfits, as well as digital media, particularly music over the Internet and also just basic Internet content businesses like a GeoCities, which was bought by Yahoo! Inc. earlier this year." Jonas

To: Edwin S. Fujinaka who wrote (1971)	10/2/1999 12:29:00 AM
From: Taikun	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6018

A little more info on eventures: EVentures Taps Schroder Official To Lead U.K. Unit Expansion By CHARLES GOLDSMITH Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL LONDON -- The new-media investment vehicle co-owned by Rupert Murdoch, eVentures, on Thursday will name Diana Noble of venture-capital group Schroder Ventures as chief executive of its United Kingdom operations as it embarks on two major British projects, according to people familiar with the developments. Ms. Noble, 38 years old, has been with Schroders merchant bank since 1984, and has been a partner in Schroder Ventures since 1987. She will immediately join eVentures, which is jointly owned by Internet investor Softbank Corp. of Japan and by epartners, the e-commerce and new-media venture-capital fund set up by Mr. Murdoch's News Corp., which now has a capitalization of $400 million (379.2 million euros). The launches earlier this year of epartners and eVentures were seen as major signs that Mr. Murdoch had firmly embraced the Internet after initial skepticism. The epartners chief executive is Mark Booth, who had been the CEO of British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC, which is 40%-owned by Mr. Murdoch. The appointment of Ms. Noble as eVentures CEO is likely to receive close attention within Britain's media industry. It follows a much-publicized episode this summer in which the job was offered to Stephen Grabiner, then chief executive of pay-TV company OnDigital, a BSkyB rival. After he reportedly accepted the post -- which would have been a major coup for Mr. Murdoch's empire -- Mr. Grabiner turned down the job down in favor of a top position at venture-capital firm Apax Partners. Ms. Noble was chosen after a selection process in which some 20 people were interviewed, say people familiar with the matter. "Blue-chip people from blue-chip companies are now embracing this sort of entrepreneurial situation," said a person familiar with the search process. "That's been the case in the U.S., and it's now coming to the U.K. and Europe." The main role of eVentures is to introduce U.S. Internet companies to the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and India, and it has $50 million of initial capital to invest. In Britain, eVentures is due this autumn to launch affiliates of E-Loan Inc., an online mortgage broker, and e-commerce venture Buy.com. The latter project is expected to offer an alternative to the high prices paid by British consumers for many items, an issue that has become a major political issue after newspapers coined the phrase "Ripoff U.K." Buy.com will likely initially focus on computers and other technology products, according to people familiar with the matter. At Schroders, Ms. Noble has been involved mostly in investments in established businesses ranging from ship repair to engineering companies. She enrolled earlier this year in an advanced management program at Harvard University in the U.S., say people familiar with her appointment, and the exposure to the Internet buzz in the U.S. was her inspiration to seek the new post at eVentures. Write to Charles Goldsmith at charles.goldsmith@wsj.com