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

To: Syl98 who wrote (586)	4/16/1999 9:04:00 AM
From: sPD	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1341

BCE Emergis mulls sale of TotalNet Internet unit By MICHAEL LEWIS The Financial Post - April 16, 1999 Committed to rapid expansion, Canadian e-commerce leader BCE Emergis Inc. says it is "re-evaluating its non-core assets" and may sell the Internet company it acquired in 1997. Rory Olson, executive vice-president in charge of business development, said TotalNet Inc. "could be sold," suggesting that, as an Internet service provider aimed at consumers, the unit is out of step with his company's focus on the e-commerce market. Emergis provides software and Net services that allow companies to move from paper to digital transactions. Mr. Olson emphasized that Emergis is weighing its options for TotalNet, which include retaining the company, selling it, or melding it with Sympatico, Bell Canada's Internet unit. Both BCE Emergis and Bell are controlled by BCE Inc. of Montreal. TotalNet was acquired in April 1997 in a share swap valued at less than $7-million, but Mr. Olson said any sale would have to reflect its 39% growth in subscribers to 57,000 and the increasing value attached to Internet companies. The company, meanwhile, says it will provide new details this month about a contract to provide e-commerce products and services to a consortium of banks, a deal analysts value at more than $1-billion over 10 years. "It will be the largest e-commerce contract in the world," said Emergis spokeswoman Anne Belliveau. Shares in Emergis, which is 65% owned by BCE, have been among the top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange this year. The shares, valued at about $7 six months, are now trading around $44.