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To: GST who wrote (102709)	5/3/2000 9:26:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 164684

May 4, 2000 Bertelsmann Postpones IPO Of Internet Retailer bol.com By CECILE GUTSCHER THE WALL STREET JOURNAL INTERACTIVE EDITION Bertelsmann AG said Wednesday it was postponing indefinitely the initial public offering of its online bookstore because of the recent decline in Internet stock prices. Bol.com was set to go public amid strong competition from Amazon.com Inc., which leads both the U.S. and European online book markets. The German media conglomerate had said in March that it hoped to sell off 23% of its bol.com unit in an IPO scheduled for sometime in the next few weeks. The company hadn't disclosed how much it hopes to raise with the IPO, which it plans to revive if market conditions improve. Reports in the U.K. press suggested the offer would be for about one billion euros. Christophe Ebhardt, a spokesman for bol.com, said the company would wait until the German Neuer Markt has recovered at least 25% of its value -- where stocks were trading in early March when the company first unveiled plans to go public. Right now, "The market is too weak," he said. The online retailer still has ample funds left over from a 500 million marks ($300 million) investment from its parent company earlier this year. "We have not spent this money so far," Mr. Ebhardt said. "We are well-covered with this investment." The plan to launch bol in Asia and Latin America, as well as diversifying into DVD and video sales, "is all covered by the 500 million marks and we don't need the additional money right now," he said. Hugh Sandeman, a director at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, which is lead managing the offering, said unlike other Internet start-ups, bol.com has the luxury of being able to wait to tap the public markets. "Because the valuation of Internet companies has come down relatively sharply since March, financing has got quite expensive and their judgment is it might pay to wait," Mr. Sandeman said. In March, Bertelsmann suffered a disappointment in the flotation of Lycos Europe NV, an Internet portal venture with Lycos Inc. of the U.S. On Tuesday, Lycos Europe shares closed at 17.25 euros, 28% below their issue price of 24 euros. Barnesandnoble.com Inc., a U.S. Internet bookseller partly owned by Bertelsmann, has also had a tough time in the recent stock-market correction. Its stock traded as high as $26.625 earlier this year but now trades around $10. Write to Cecile Gutscher at cecile.gutscher@wsj.com