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

To: Gary Walker who wrote (23481)	10/28/1998 6:22:00 PM
From: Randy Ellingson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

N2K Holders Sue to Block Rival CDnow's Acquisition (Update1) snap.com Wilmington, Delaware, Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- N2K Inc. shareholders sued to block the No. 2 online music retailer's acquisition by bigger rival CDnow Inc. for $111.4 million in stock, saying N2K officials should have shopped for a better price. Jenkintown, Pennsylvania-based CDnow said last week it will issue 0.83 share for each share of N2K, valuing N2K at $7.83 per share based on CDnow's 9 7/16 closing price the day before the offer was announced -- a 42 percent premium over N2K's closing price of 5 1/2 that day. Both companies reported third-quarter losses attributed to the costs of competing with each other and Amazon.com, a highly touted Internet bookseller that began selling music on its Web site earlier this year. That's why they agreed to join forces, officials of N2K and CDnow said. But investors paid $19-per share for N2K stock when it was initially sold in October 1997, so the $7.83 offer is ''unfair and grossly inadequate,'' N2K shareholder Morris Rubin said in his suit filed in Delaware Chancery Court in Wilmington. The offer doesn't take into account N2K's growth prospects in the emerging world of Internet retailing and N2K officials could have gotten a better deal for shareholders by opening the company up to other offers, the suit said. ''If consummated, the transaction will deny (shareholders) the right to share proportionately in the true value of N2K's assets, businesses and future growth,'' Rubin said in the suit, which seeks class-action status. Rubin is asking a Delaware judge to block the sale until N2K shops around for other offers for the company and pay unspecified damages. Officials of CDnow and New York-based N2K declined to comment on the suit.

To: Gary Walker who wrote (23481)	10/28/1998 6:45:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

Amzn is no AOL. AOL had 90% market share in the early days. AMZN will never get to 90% unless all of their shareholders and creditors want to lose money. Gary, Actually, Amazon is losing market share. Their revenues are growing but more slowly than the industry in which they are competing. Glenn

To: Gary Walker who wrote (23481)	10/29/1998 4:45:00 PM
From: damniseedemons	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

>>They are not interested in Profits only creating a successful business! That's what they said. > Come on, Gary, that's bad context. What they mean is they want to build up the long term business first--which takes a ton of investment now--before profitability. Their priorities are: 1) Build the business. 2) Cash Flow positive. 3) Profitability.. In fact, go read Bezos' letter to shareholders from the annual report, it discusses some of this. >>They have no competitive advantage over anyone. Check their prices versus the others. They are facing Walmart.com, Borders, Barnes, etc.>> No. 1) "The barrier to entry is that there's no barrier to entry." That is, anyone can put up a website but it's like having a small sign in a crowded city. That's why they HAVE to spend so much on marketing...if they can successfully do this, it'll cost competitors even more to build the same franchise (ie., it's easiest to get a brand new customer). Also, there are zillions of operational issues that competitors have to overcome. For example, B&K/Borders are afraid to cannibalize their primary business, and they also have to do with individual store owners not cooperating (don't underestimate this--it's a big problem). In short, B&K/Borders are doing half-assed "me-to" online stores. Amazon will have a scale advantage over them, which in the long run means they can afford to have the lowest prices. I do think Bertelsman is more hardcore than B&K, however, but they're still nobody in the US... In Europe, however, Bert should be quite tough--not to mention that AMZN will have operational challenges to face over there (inv management, currency, laws, languages, etc., etc., etc.). >>AOL had 90% market share in the early days. AMZN will never get to 90% unless all of their shareholders and creditors want to lose money.>> Uhh, no, AOL actually came from behind. They had tough competition from CompuServe, Prodigy, and a myriad of others. I'm not trying to say that the AOL analogy is perfect, my only use for it is that AOL burned ("invested") lots of money early on to get big fast, and AMZN is doing the same. >>I'm surprise at you, Sal. You're the last person, besides William, who I would expect to be supporting the AMZN model. >> Why? If you're somehow thinking back to the Netscape thread, I always hated NSCP because MSFT was very hardcore about competing with them (among other things (btw: GO MICROSOFT in the trial!!!).. Again, B&K/Borders are not hardcore and even if management wanted to be, they find stiff resistance throughout their chain. And both Bill and I have always loved YHOO which started out losing money (yes, i know it's different that amazon and didn't last as long). -Sal PS. Nice to see you. It's been what, 2 years?