ICGE(50 cents).......Internet Capital Group Strengthens Financial Position as Key Partner Companies Gain Momentum - Recent Actions Bring Liquidity Balance to More Than $300 Million -
- ICG Continues to Increase Ownership in Promising Partner Companies -
- Key Partner Companies Continue to Secure Major Customers -
WAYNE, Pa., Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Internet Capital Group (Nasdaq: ICGE), a leading business-to-business e-commerce company, today announced that its recent actions have further strengthened the company's liquidity position, while it prioritizes resources on its most promising partner companies which continue demonstrating their ability to execute. Company highlights since the second quarter earnings announcement include:
-- An increased liquidity position of more than $300 million, achieved
through the sale of stakes in Internet Healthcare Group and TALPX
for more than $19 million in proceeds, as well as the completed sale
of its interest in RightWorks for approximately 4.5 million shares
of i2 Technologies;
-- Ownership increases in two leading partner companies, Logistics.com
and eCredit, resulting in primary ownership interests of 97% and
99%, respectively. This follows the recently announced increase in
ownership in CommerceQuest to 65% and USgift to 97%;
-- Solid ICG partner company growth, as demonstrated by their ability to
drive revenues, manage expenses and secure prominent customer wins
like Molson, Quaker Oats and Dixon's in Europe.
"We continue to improve ICG's financial position and concentrate our financial and operational resources on driving the performance of the partner companies that we believe will generate the greatest shareholder value," said Walter Buckley, president and CEO of ICG. "With our current liquidity position and streamlined corporate expenses, I'm confident that we have the financial foundation to continue to support and build our key companies and maintain our focus through these challenging markets."
"Through intense focus and execution, we are meeting and surpassing our stated objectives while also helping many of our partner companies to exceed their own business goals," added Buckley. "These companies are growing their revenue streams and reducing their expenses, while continuing to deliver greater efficiencies to Global 2000 customers."
Partner company highlights since Q2 2001 include:
-- Logistics.com, Inc., the leader in transportation procurement and
management technology, was recently selected by such established
industry leaders as Staples, Gillette, PPG Industries and The
Limited for its procurement and execution solutions.
-- Dixon's, Europe's largest specialist retailer of consumer electronics,
licensed CommerceQuest's enableNet Data Integrator software product
to help reduce costs associated with information sharing across
disparate systems in large retail chains. Dixon's, with more than
1,250 stores, has an annual revenue of approximately US$9 billion.
-- Freeborders, a leading provider of Collaborative Product
Management(TM) (CPM) solutions for the global retail industry,
acquired Karat Software Corporation(TM), a leader in interactive
product development management (iPDM(TM)) solutions. Karat
customers include the Gap, Target, Ann Taylor, Coach, Williams- Sonoma, Eddie Bauer, Woolrich, Gymboree, J. Crew, Saks, and Levi
Strauss & Co. The deal gives Freeborders a major share of the
design and development solutions market for leading retailers.
Additionally, Freeborders announced the implementation of its CPM
Design(TM) and CPM Develop(TM) modules by The Apparel Group Ltd.
(TAG), a leading apparel manufacturing company whose customers
include J. C. Penney, Dillard's, May Company, Nordstrom, Men's
Wearhouse, Saks Inc. and Kohl's. Freeborders also secured an
additional $9 million in funding during this period and announced a
41% increase in second quarter revenue compared to the first quarter
of 2001.
-- Emptoris, Inc., a leading developer of Web-based collaborative
strategic sourcing solutions, announced that Molson, Canada's
pre-eminent brewer, selected Emptoris' ePASS(TM) to launch Molson's
first e-sourcing initiative.
-- Several ICG partner companies, including private companies Blackboard,
BuyMedia, and Logistics.com and public companies eMerge Interactive
(Nasdaq: EMRG), and UAXS Global Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: UAXS), were
named to Forbes' prestigious "Best of The Web: B2B" list, announced
last week. |