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Gold/Mining/Energy : BCE Emergis - global e-commerce -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cruncher who wrote (122)	6/5/1998 12:01:00 AM
From: sPD	Respond to of 1341

Emergis' value established at $454M. In the last quarterly statements (Feb 28), Mpact's total assets were listed at $22M and revenue was $6.5M. Bell Canada to merge electronic business unit with Mpact Immedia MONTREAL (CP) -- Bell Canada is getting into the fast lane of the electronic highway with the purchase Thursday of one of the industry leaders, Mpact Immedia, in a deal worth $450 million. Bell is going to turn over to Montreal-based Mpact its own electronic commerce division, valued at $400 million, as well as $54 million in cash. In return, Mpact will issue Bell shares to give the Canadian phone giant 65 per cent control of the new Mpact Immedia. When the deal closes in August, publicly traded Mpact will be a much larger company, joining its marketing and technology skills with Bell's deep financial pockets, executives told a telephone news conference. "We needed to grow a lot faster and the best way is to align ourselves with a large strategic partner in the telecommunications industry," said Brian Edwards, Mpact's chief executive. "We don't think we could have done any better." If combined with Bell during the last 12 months, Mpact's revenue would have hit $75 million. Mpact claims it will be one of the world leaders in the business of helping companies do business on the Internet and directly between clients electronically, a market said to be growing at a rate of between 50 and 100 per cent a year. "What we're really talking about is helping companies move from paper as their main way of doing business, to the electronic world," said Edwards. The deal is part of Bell's strategy to diversify in new growth areas as its traditional telephone business comes under competition in the long distance and local markets. For example, in April, Bell announced plans to build a high-speed data network from Montreal to Vancouver, to provide electronic commerce and Internet for its large corporate customers. Mpact, a specialist in electronic commerce, would be a complement to that project. Mpact's clients include large companies like the Royal Bank, Dell Computers, Mercedes-Benz and British Aerospace. It also has begun supplying software to the Automotive Network Exchange of the three major U.S. carmakers. By the first quarter of 1999, everyone who transacts business with them, from parts manufacturers to dealers, will have to join this online network. "We're committed to being the major provider" of that network, said Edwards. Another Mpact project is to develop an Internet marketplace for both large and small companies to advertise and bill clients. Mpact also has its own Internet provider, which competes with Bell's Sympatico. The new Mpact, with more than 400 employees, will remain headquartered in Montreal, with offices in Toronto, Ottawa and Livonia, Mich. Mpact Immedia's stock soared in recent weeks after it was revealed it was in talks with a potential buyer. They closed Thursday at $11.40, off $2.30 from the day before, as speculation of an outright takeover was dashed. The shares have dropped as low as $2.50 during the last year.