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

To: rocki who wrote (223)	12/19/1998 12:15:00 AM
From: rocki	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1341

One man who made an impact Article from the Montreal Gazzette 18Dec98, pointed out to me by Vince the lurker. Thanks appreciate all articles on Mpact or the up and coming BCE Emergis. I was wondering when we would have to change the threads name, seems after annual meeting 21Jan99. B Edwards has been the driver of Mpact and management has lived up to their promises made at annual meetings.IMHO One man who made an impact In expanding world of E-commerce, Brian Edwards aims to be a giant ALISON MACGREGOR The Gazette Edwards: One heck of a year. Brian Edwards remembers when Mpact Immedia Inc. held its Christmas parties "sitting around a table." Less than 10 years later, following a merger with the electronic-business solutions unit of Bell Emergis, the company has grown into a $75-million-a-year business. For 1999, the company is predicting it will double its revenue - and it plans to turn that into billions over the next few years. And since Edwards founded Mpact in 1988, he has remained steadfastly at the helm - through acquisition after acquisition, merger after merger. "Today we are over 600 people at the company," said Edwards, 49. "So I think we can expect that expansion is gong to continue at a pretty fast rate." The Montreal-based firm combines E-commerce with network technology. These Internet-related services allow companies to move paper-based transactions to electronic ones, saving time and money. Customers are able to exchange information with each other and make secure financial transactions. For example, an employee could log onto one of these networks to access and send out purchasing orders. The company has targeted the banking industry, mortgage services, the government, online shopping and the automotive and transportation industries. The company predicts that most of its expansion will occur in the U.S. marke through internal growth and acquisitions. Recently, the firm set up the Automotive Network Exchange, a system that connects automobile companies with suppliers on the Internet. Industry reports show that the E-commerce market is booming. The Boston-based Yankee Group has estimated that online consumers will spend $2.55 billion in the U.S. this Christmas. Last year it was $800 million. Customers from outside the U.S. account for 25 per cent of the business. "I think 1998 has been one heck of a year for electronic commerce," said Edwards, president and chief executive of Mpact. "We're the sixth-rated growth company in North America in this technological area, and we think we're going to be able to keep that growth going for quite some time." After graduating with a commerce degree from Concordia University, Edwards worked in the computer industry for a number of years. Ten years ago, he left IST Inc. to start up Mpact. In January 1997, Mpact bought TotalNet, a Montreal-based Intentservice provider for $6.4 million. In June, Bell Canada bought 65 per cent of Mpact in a $450-million cash-and-stock deal. On Dec. 14, Mpact acquired Newstar Technologies Inc., a provider of E-commerce solutions to the Canadian financial services industry. After the January 21 shareholders meeting, it is expected that Mpact will be renamed BCE Emergis. Rajiv Das, an analyst with CIBC Wood Gundy, said that when Bell bought a 65 per cent position in Mpact "they were clearly stating their intent to use Mpact as their public market vehicle to try and exploit the E-commerce marketplace." "I think giving the BCE Emergis name continues to show their commitment to Mpact as their E-commerce strategy. I think it's good," he said.