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Technology Stocks : Webvan Group (WBVN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Harvey Allen who wrote (416)	7/9/2001 2:00:49 AM
From: dkgross	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 464

This truly saddens me...and it's NOT because I own WBVN stock. The service was invaluable to me and many of my friends. marketwatch.com. Report: Webvan shutting down Online grocer plans to file for bankruptcy protection By Anne Stanley, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 1:39 AM ET July 9, 2001 FOSTER CITY, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Pioneer online grocer Webvan, shattered by the dot-com fallout and the economic slowdown, will announce Monday morning that it has shut down operations and will file for bankruptcy protection, according to media reports. The company (WBVN: news, msgs, alerts) , which operates in seven U.S. markets and has about 2,000 employees, made a last-ditch attempt to keep its stock from being delisted with a 1-for-25 reverse stock split at the end of June. Late Sunday, San Francisco Bay Area Fox television affiliate KTVU reported a Webvan official confirmed that employees were being told of the company's decision and that Webvan had scheduled a formal announcement at 5:30 a.m. Pacific time Monday morning, an hour before the stock market opens in New York. According to the KTVU report, Webvan did not officially announce the decision Sunday because it was still in the process of notifying employees. Webvan officials could not be reached for comment. In late June, Merrill Lynch analyst Henry Blodget withdrew his coverage of the stock, whose market capitalization had shrunk to $38 million from a peak of $8.45 billion. Another analyst, Greg Kyle at burn-rate specialist Pegasus Research International, said before the stock split that the proposal, designed to raise the price of the stock above a $1 Nasdaq threshold, was a "Band-Aid." Webvan's commitments, mostly for real estate leases and loans, came to $43.3 million at the end of March. Operating expenses for its facilities amounted to $60.5 million for the March quarter. All told, as of March 31, Webvan had accumulated $829.7 million of red ink. The grocer lost $217 million in the March quarter, including the restructuring charge. It operates in Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County and Portland, Ore. Borders Stores founder Louis Borders owns 10.3 percent of the company's shares. Venture capitalists and the online pioneer Amazon.com also own large stakes in Webvan. Anne Stanley is a news editor at CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco.