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To: HandsOn who wrote (112)	11/16/1999 7:39:00 PM
From: Candle stick	Respond to of 195

Spanish ISP Terra Poised for Strong Market Debut By William Schomberg MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Internet access and portal provider Terra Networks (Nasdaq:TRRA - news) is poised to make a big hit when it debuts in Spain and on the U.S. Nasdaq on Wednesday. Shares in the unit of telecoms giant Telefonica were quoted at between 25 and 28 euros in the ``grey' market in London on Tuesday, roughly double the offer price of 13 euros per share to be paid by institutional investors. Terra has offered about 66 million shares, or 23.6 percent of its capital, and will be Europe's most valuable Internet firm at about 3.6 billion euros based on the IPO price. Institutional investors and Terra's strategic partners in Latin America have been offered nearly all the shares. ``It's going to go up, and a lot -- that's for certain,' an Internet analyst said in Britain. ``There's huge demand from retail investors, excess liquidity in the markets in general and there's a strong tailwind pushing Internet stocks up again,' he said, referring to strong gains on the Internet-laden Nasdaq and by Europe's handful of Internet stocks. Restrictions on Spain's stock exchange will prevent Terra from passing a first-day ceiling of 22.42 euros per share. Despite warnings by Terra of no profits for three years, analysts said initial demand for Terra was likely to be as intense as in the listings of Britain's Freeserve, which soared nearly 40 percent on its debut, and Italy's Tiscali, which has more than doubled in value since its listing in October. New York-based StarMedia Network -- the first Latin America-wide Internet media company to go public -- is trading at more than double its May launch price of $15. Internet's Hot And So Is Latin America Not even a year old, Terra has splashed out $600 million on access providers and portals from Mexico to Chile, racking up nearly one million clients in the process. It will also focus on the U.S. Spanish-speaking community via a joint venture with partner IDT Corp (Nasdaq:IDTC - news). ``Anything Internet carries a very strong premium in the current climate and being a big player in Latin America is another bonus,' said a Madrid analyst who asked not to be named. The number of Internet users in Latin America is expected to soar to 34 million in 2000 from an estimated 8.5 million in 1998, and regional advertising and e-commerce revenues are also projected to climb sharply, according to Terra's prospectus. Top Internet players like Yahoo, America Online and Prodigy have unveiled plans for the region, spurring Terra's rush to raise expansion funds via an IPO. Despite some doubts over the manageability of its diverse assets, analysts said Terra looked well placed to carve off a big chunk of the market thanks to its heavy investments in local content for its sites, key to turning Internet browsers into shoppers. Telefonica's massive presence in Latin America and Spain -- where it has 54 million clients -- would give Terra cyber clout. And Terra's largely paying customers were more likely to stay loyal than the free access clients of Freeserve and Tiscali, said David Freddi with Standard & Poor's Marketscope. ``There's a very big likelihood that when e-commerce explodes in its markets, Terra Networks will claim a far larger chunk than America Online has in the United States,' Freddi said. He valued Terra at 16.5 euros per share. ``But given the appetite for this kind of stock I would not be surprised if it goes up to 20 euros or even higher,' he said.