Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: microhoogle! who wrote (107182)	8/17/2000 11:36:52 AM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

I understand it better now. Amzn took the losses already. Seattle, Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. said it won't take a charge for its stake in Living.com, the failed Internet furniture store that also was backed by Starbucks Corp. Starbucks said today it would record a $20.6 million pretax charge related to its investment. Amazon.com accounted for a portion of Living.com's losses the past two quarters and won't have to take any writedowns in the third quarter, company spokeswoman Patty Smith said. The top Internet retailer owned 18 percent of Living.com, plus warrants to purchase more shares. The closely held furniture store, which plans to file for bankruptcy, was one of several Web sites that Amazon.com agreed to market for a fee. While the initial agreement with Living.com called for payments of $145 million over five years, Amazon.com collected less than $1 million in the first half of the year. It expected to receive $2 million in the second half, Smith said. Amazon.com said last month that it would renegotiate some of its marketing arrangements as its partners delayed initial public offerings or saw their shares slide as much as 80 percent this year. Initially, the agreements with Drugstore.com Inc., Greenlight.com and others were expected to generate about $500 million of revenue over several years. ``In terms of valuing Amazon.com, I have not counted on the company's minority investments at all,'' said analyst Sasha Kostadinov at McDonald Investments Inc., who has a ``buy'' rating on the stock. ``I view it as icing on the cake.'' Starbucks, the biggest U.S. specialty-coffee retailer, said that the charge for its 6 percent to 7 percent stake in Living.com would reduce earnings by about 7 cents a share in the fourth quarter ending Oct. 1. Some or all of the company's remaining $43 million in Internet investments may require similar writedowns, Starbucks said. Its investments include $8 million in Talk City Inc., $10 million in Cooking.com and $25 million Kozmo.com. Separately, Amazon.com disclosed in a regulatory filing today that it purchased about $3 million of Drugstore.com stock on Aug. 4, increasing its stake in the Internet pharmacy to 15.5 million shares, or 23 percent. Amazon.com bought 607,594 shares at $4.9375 each, according to the filing. Aug/16/2000 17:22 ET