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Technology Stocks : AUTOHOME, Inc -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Solid who wrote (15832)	10/1/1999 10:51:00 PM
From: BrooklynDave	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29970

Excite@Home Marriage On The Rocks upside.com October 01, 1999 by Wendy Sharp Sounds like the wedding bells had barely finished ringing for Excite and @Home (ATHM) when the in-laws (in this case, Ma Bell) started talking divorce. Although the Internet companies' merger was only finalized at the end of May, AT&T (T) execs have been informally talking separation for several months, according to an Oct. 1 story in the Los Angeles Times. This week, the Times says, AT&T upped the ante by putting a formal proposal to separate content and distribution to the Excite@Home board. For AT&T, the marriage quickly became something of an embarassment. With its own $54 billion acquisition of MediaOne Group in question, in part because of the potential power AT&T would have as both the largest cable company and a content provider, the powers that be at the communications giant may have good reason to want to dissociate Excite's portal from @Home's broadband delivery service. AT&T needed to keep its hands in the broadband holdings but get rid of the content to quiet those anti-monopolist rumblings. But will Cox Communications go along? AT&T is the majority shareholder in Excite@Home, with 58 percent of the voting stock. But Cox has veto power over any possible separation and, as the fourth largest cable company, it may have little reason to give AT&T a helping hand on its way to becoming an even more distant No. 1 in the cable network business. Industry analysts suggest that the formal proposal made by AT&T may be a way of forcing Cox's compliance, with the threat of AT&T leaving its exclusive alliance with Excite@Home too great a risk for Excite@Home's shaky stock price. Meanwhile, what about poor Excite? The bride doesn't have a swarm of new suitors pounding down her door. Although rumors have placed AOL (AOL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo (YHOO) at her feet, none have publicly announced interest. Still, the company has a pretty substantial dowry to offer: With 38 million registered users, it's still one of the largest portals out there. Recent investments in WebMD, E-Stamp, Rosenbluth Interactive, Quokka Sports and Webstakes.com make for an attractive jewelry box. With Enliven for rich media advertising and Matchlogic for database marketing solutions, the company's marketing makeup is firmly in place. Yes, despite the potential perils of a poor first marriage, Excite could still be a charming bride at a second wedding. Of course, all this may be pure fiction. Leo Hindery Jr., the chief of AT&T's cable group, told Reuters Wednesday night, "There are no discussions underway to split the company between its content and distribution activities." In that case, the marriage is still on. But the honeymoon is definitely over. Wendy Sharp is a freelance writer living in Northern California.