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Technology Stocks : InfoSpace (INSP): Where GNET went! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alex W. who wrote (2148)	3/17/1999 3:04:00 PM
From: MARKZAW	Respond to of 28311

As I understand the Deal... PA and Vulcan have agreed to buy preferred stock as well as common stock from insider officers/directors (who probably have options so far in the money that $90 is just fine thank you very much). Additionally, he can tender to buy shares on the open market at $90, until mid-April, at which point he can walk away from the TENDER OFFER. He is still part of GNET, maybe with a smaller interest, but remember, in a public company, owning even "only" 40% gives you a heck of a lot of clout on the Board. This is my understanding from what I have read, and I may be wrong, but I think and hope that this company will go-go-go. The attached was clipped from CBS Market Watch: " Go2Net (GNET) fell 5 5/16 to 120 11/16. It jumped 12 5/8 to 126 Tuesday on news Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen agreed to acquire a controlling interest in the network of branded, technology- and community-driven Web sites. The move sets the stage for Allen to take on AtHome (ATHM) and America Online (AOL) by offering broadband content delivered through his growing cable TV network. Shares of AOL slipped marginally. AtHome lost 1 5/8 to 117 7/9. AtHome merger partner Excite (XCIT) edged up 3/4 to 107." Read my earlier post about "broadband content".

To: Alex W. who wrote (2148)	3/17/1999 4:56:00 PM
From: BillCh	Respond to of 28311

Great deal better than the Lycos debacle Excite and TCI were both in the Kleiner Perkins fold, and part of their keiretsu philosophy is to arrange marriages such as that one. Similarly Geocities and Yahoo had Softbank as a common factor. So PA has dozens of obscure fantastic web properties and lots of cable customers, what else is there to do but use a portal to eventually tie the properties together. Its a build or buy decision, and in the timeframe leading up to the float of the cable assets the only thing to do was to buy a portal. Unless Go2Net's growth slows, there's no need for PA to exit before there are much closer ties between all the PA holdings. At that point, the entire portfolio of properties could be attractive to whoever is winning the convergence wars some years from now. PA could be a major player in the convergence market in future, based on technology in the portfolio. AT+T has a substantial lead, now that the TCI acquisition has been approved by the FCC. Cool content will eventually drive the convergence market once internet voice/long distance, digital tv and high speed access become commodities. Its awesome that Go2Net is a starter in this race!