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Technology Stocks : Lycos -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jerry Frost who wrote (1422)	1/24/1999 1:01:00 PM
From: AJ Berger	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2439

It's All or Nothing, Boys... As TWX's stock has more than doubled this year it would make great currency of a Lycos buyout. But many of you may be asking, what's taking so long? We've been discussing buyout rumors for over a year, and little has happened. I think the "problem" is CMGI. Lycos has about $200mil so it does no need the money, but it could use a strategic partner or parent to continue growing as the Internet crosses over into other Mediums. TWX would be a great fit, but like Bertellsman, these guys want a piece of the action, and not the whole pie. Enter CMGI, the major shareholder in Lycos. They want to cash in on their investment, and are probably pushing for an outright buyer, which may be hard to come by despite what we saw in the XCIT/ATHM deal. Bottom line is, if anyone just goes for a piece of Lycos, that may not help the stock price much, and CMGI knows it. CMGI does'nt want another partner sitting at the table; playing interference if and when then find a buyout suitor; thus CMGI is holding out for a bigger all out deal. If MSFT is in the running after losing on XCIT, they may have to wait until the worst of the Federal Court Trail is over before announcing it's intentions. We may not hear of any deal for a while yet, leaving Lycos to trade at the whims of the other Internet stocks. If the Internet Euphoria abates, don't expect Lycos to continue pissing into the wind. I'll keep my position long for now, especially since I believe this week will be kind to all things internet, but I won't be doubling up my position anytime soon. I also would not be suprised if we don't see 10% moves on no news as many shorts have turned long and without their short covering, the stock should trade with a lot less volitility.