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Technology Stocks : VerticalNet, Inc. [VERT] -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bob zagorin who wrote (1012)	11/8/2000 8:15:20 PM
From: puborectalis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1094

VerticalNet Deal Draws Divergent Views By Joe Bousquin Senior Writer 11/8/00 5:22 PM ET Forget about Al Gore and George W. Bush. Views on VerticalNet (VERT:Nasdaq - news) are split as well. Analysts came out with mixed opinions on VerticalNet's decision to buy online credit company SierraCities.com (BTOB:Nasdaq - news) for about $133 million in VerticalNet stock. Investors, however, saw only one side Wednesday. In the midst of a broad technology selloff Wednesday, VerticalNet shares fell $3.44, or 12%, to $24.38. VerticalNet, which has made at least 20 acquisitions in the last two years, plans to use SierraCities.com to allow companies that use its network of Web sites to check the credit quality of prospective customers. But Tim Klein, an analyst at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, downgraded VerticalNet Wednesday to buy from strong buy, citing new risks at the company after the acquisition. The "acquisition raises [a] number of concerns topped by added execution risk," Klein wrote in his note. "As we've indicated previously, VerticalNet has significant execution challenges in the areas of e-commerce sales, service and traffic generation. While it can be argued that the proposed acquisition will help in some of these areas, we believe that such a benefit does not exist in the near term." (Piper hasn't done recent underwriting for the company.) But at Gerard Klauer Mattison, analyst Alan Weichelbaum, who rates the stock a buy, saw the acquisition in a more positive light. The "acquisition broadens VERT's product offering," wrote Weichelbaum, who added that the deal carries strategic benefits. (Gerard Klauer hasn't done recent underwriting for the company.) For one thing, it will allow VerticalNet to offer credit scoring, which involves computer scoring of a customer's credit worthiness. "The absence of online credit scoring has been an impediment to B2B transactions," Weichelbaum wrote. For another, the deal gives VerticalNet additional services to cross-sell to customers and marketplaces. It's not the first time analysts have had divided views on VerticalNet. Earlier this year, the stock created controversy among the analysts who follow it. But on Wednesday, investors were buying only one point of view.

To: bob zagorin who wrote (1012)	12/1/2000 12:33:35 AM
From: puborectalis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1094

VerticalNet Opens Web Site for Semiconductor Industry Business November 30, 2000 (TOKYO) -- VerticalNet Japan Corp. started to operate a Web site on Nov. 27 called "Semiconductor Online" as a community Web site for the semiconductor industry. VerticalNet Japan operates community Web sites for specific industries, such as for the pharmaceutical industry or for the automobile industry. On the site (only in Japanese), users can search and access industry news and information on products and companies. Also, semiconductor designers or purchasers can send inquiries to equipment makers, meaning buyers and sellers can make contact on the Web site, just the same as the other community Web sites operated by the company. VerticalNet Japan has powered up its search function with a database that classifies product and company information into 1,400 categories. Adding to it, users can e-mail their searched pages from the Web site. Buyers can use the Web site for free, and sellers pay charges when using the storefront on the site to exhibit detailed product information. Some 1,460 manufacturers are registered as sellers on Semiconductor Online. They are semiconductor equipment makers, IC/LSI testing equipment makers, EDA tool venders, LCD makers, printed circuit board designers and makers, and EMS providers. They also include the business for designing and producing printed circuit board set equipment makers. The company plans to open Semiconductor-Online devoted to the semiconductor industry with a view to expand it to a Web site for the electronics industry. It plans to open related Web sites covering detailed categories. The company's aim is to reach 1,000 accesses per day on average in six months. It is planning to open three more Web sites, including a Web site for mobile communications, to make a total of seven Web sites within the year. It will open three more Web sites by the end of March 2001 to get sales of 250 million yen for fiscal 2000. (110.19 yen = US$1) (Nikkei Electronics)