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To: Night Writer who wrote (74050)	12/17/1999 6:47:00 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Respond to of 97611

CMGI Shows Them the Money, Holders Show Their Love By Tony Munroe BOSTON (Reuters) - It turns out money can buy you love -- if you're CMGI Inc. (NasdaqNM:CMGI - news) Chairman and Chief Executive David Wetherell, the so-called ''Warren Buffett of the Internet.'' Wetherell presided over an annual shareholders meeting of his Internet hothouse on Friday, which was likened by two of the 500 attendees in the crowd to ''a rock concert'' and ''a revival meeting.'' And why not? The company's stock returned 870 percent in the 52 weeks ending Thursday, and a breathtaking 67,040 percent since going public in January 1994. ''My three-and-half-year-old son and I thank you very much for sharing your vision,'' Mary Lou McElhany told Wetherell after the meeting. McElhany traveled from her home in Charlotte, N.C. ''to see what's in that brain,'' as she explained it. McElhany bought stock a year ago in CMGI, which invests in and develops so-called ''dot.com'' firms. Wetherell's company capped a hectic week late on Friday when its majority-owned AltaVista search engine filed papers to sell stock to the public to raise up to $300 million. CMGI acquired 82 percent of AltaVista earlier this year from Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news), and an IPO of the popular site has been much anticipated by investors. Also this week, CMGI announced consensus-beating earnings, a two-for-one stock split, and the $500 million stock acquisition of yesmail.com Inc. (NasdaqNM:YESM - news). On Friday, CMGI said it is mulling a public offering of its AtVentures investment arm. AtVentures holds investments in such firms as Chemdex (NasdaqNM:CMDX - news), Critical Path (NasdaqNM:CPTH - news), Lycos (NasdaqNM:LCOS - news), MotherNature.com (NasdaqNM:MTHR - news), Silknet Software (NasdaqNM:SILK - news) and dozens of other private firms with initial public offer potential. Wetherell reiterated his recent prediction that CMGI will double its current portfolio of 58 companies to about 120 over the next year. One shareholder, a finance student at Bentley College, told Wetherell that his professors warn him of an Internet bubble. Wetherell asked: ''What other industry has companies growing at 1 percent a day? Those companies demand a premium.'' Besides, he said, ''nobody's forcing people to invest in the Internet.'' Wetherell added: ''I really think we've got the best business model in the world for a new economy.'' While he said no talks are taking place that would see CMGI acquire a controlling stake in search engine Lycos Inc., he appeared to leave the door open for such a deal. ''If there were reasonable terms, I think it's a good marriage,'' he said after the meeting, adding that both companies are healthy on their own. CMGI, which has a controlling stake in rival search engine AltaVista, owns roughly 18 percent of Lycos. During and after the standing-room-only meeting, Wetherell soaked up repeated plaudits from shareholders. ''I know I speak for everyone in the room when I say, Eat your spinach. Watch your cholesterol,'' one shareholder admonished the man who has provided many of them with riches. Wetherell, a fit-looking 45, seemed to revel in the giddiness that surrounds his company and his industry, answering, ''It's much better than having a bunch of enemies.'' Where investors in traditional companies occasionally gripe that the CEO earns too much money, one asked why Wetherell isn't paid more. And unlike the graying, suit-wearing crowds that often populate shareholder meetings, the CMGI event was crammed with young, casually dressed investors and employees. About 70 were members of the Raging Bull stock chat room, a company CMGI recently agreed to acquire. Ted Mara, a young investor from Harvard, Mass. approached Wetherell: ''I believe wholeheartedly in what you're doing. Can I have your autograph?'' He wasn't the only one who asked. Earlier Stories CMGI Mulls Spin-Off of Atventures (December 17) Corrected: CMGI Mulls Spin-Off of Atventures (December 17) CMGI Mulls Spin-Off of Atventures Investment Arm (December 17) CMGI Forms New Business to Business Services C