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Non-Tech : NVDC -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: SalmonMan who wrote (95)3/21/1999 3:51:00 PM
From: SalmonMan  Respond to of 198
 
More on NVDC/ABTL/AWEB from Bloomberg:

Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com to Lead Internet IPOs Next Week

Bloomberg News
March 19, 1999, 1:33 p.m. PT
Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com to Lead Internet IPOs Next Week

New York, March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Four Internet companies
plan initial stock sales next week, and investors say they're
likely to meet a rousing reception.

The Internet companies include two automobile Internet
sites: Santa Clara, California-based Autoweb.com Inc., an online
auto dealer, and Irvine, California-based Autobytel.com Inc.,
which operates a Web site for purchasing new and used vehicles.
Autoweb.com plans to sell 5 million shares at $10 to $12, raising
about $55 million. Autobytel.com plans to sell 4.5 million shares
at $16 to $18, raising about $76.5 million.

Three non-Internet companies also plan initial stock sales,
though they are likely to be relatively neglected, analysts and
investors say.

''The Internet stocks are sucking the oxygen out of the
market,'' said David Menlow, president of the IPO Financial
Network, a research firm in Millburn, New Jersey, that rates
IPOs.

The market for IPOs with online ties remains very robust,
observers say, as Internet stocks soar. The Inter@active Week
Internet Index rose 7.8 percent this week.

Non-Internet IPOs are drawing less enthusiasm. Some non-
Internet companies that went public earlier this month aren't
trading very well, including Argosy Education, which is below its
issue price. Boyds Collection Ltd. is trading near its issue
price.

Internet IPO Demand

Judging by the way investors snapped up Internet IPOs this
week, the Internet IPOs should meet strong demand, investors say.
IVillage Inc., which runs Internet sites with news and
information for women, more than tripled today, its first day of
trading after it sold shares to the public. The stock rose 56 1/2
to 80 1/3, even though it has a history of losses.



To: SalmonMan who wrote (95)3/21/1999 4:06:00 PM
From: SalmonMan  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 198
 
Yet more coverage...REUTERS...can you say CRAZE?

Sunday March 21, 2:12 pm Eastern Time
IPO VIEW - Internet auto dealer race is hot ticket
By Jennifer Shaw

NEW YORK, March 21 (Reuters) - Two companies that sell automobiles on the information superhighway are racing to debut their shares on Wall Street this week -- and investors are lining up for tickets.

''There are institutional clients who want to buy them,'' Vincent Slavin of Cantor Fitzgerald, said. ''One of my clients really likes the deal because of the services they provide and because of the the price points.''

In one lane is Internet autodealer Autobytel.com, underwritten by Alex. Brown. In the other, Autoweb.com, with CS First Boston its underwriter.

''We have dueling underwriters, dueling concepts,'' David Menlow, president of IPO Financial Network in Millburn, N.J., said. ''It's a battle out there. The perception is the Autobytel is the granddaddy of this subset. I don't necessarily think its going to create competition.''

Internet auto sellers are gaining in popularity because of their competitive prices and because people enjoy shopping for vehicles without feeling pressured by aggressive sales people.

''The companies feel that what drives the market is price,'' Menlow said, adding that customers are happy not to be ''manacled to the desk'' by zealous staff.

''They will call you of course and they are well rehearsed on how to convert an Internet sale but on the phone, one is less persistent than in person,'' Menlow added.

On the downside, one can hardly take a car for a test drive over the Internet.

''You can't kick the tires and you can't take it for a spin. I just don't get it,'' Vincent Slavin of Cantor Fitzgerald said. ''But these deals are going to work.''

Both companies are generating a lot of buzz on Wall Street. They are relatively similar in terms of their product and revenue stream, although Autobytel is slightly larger.

''They have revenues but they are not making money,'' Menlow said. Both companies had revenues and net losses in the high teens last year.

Autobytel.com will offer 4.5 million shares at $16 to $18. Autoweb.com will offer five million shares at $10 to $12 each.