From: TheStandardEurope.com
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Sent: 13/02/01 22:07
Subject: INTELLIGENCER EUROPE: Second coming for First Tuesday?
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THE INDUSTRY STANDARD EUROPE'S
I N T E L L I G E N C E R E U R O P E
This week in the European Internet economy
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translations by eTranslate
Wednesday 14 February, 2001
TOP STORY:
* Second coming for First Tuesday?
WORTH REPEATING:
* eCountries fall
BRIEFS:
* News highlights of the week
BY THE NUMBERS:
* Online travels flies high
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TOP STORY
~~~~~~~~~
Second coming for First Tuesday?
Israeli incubator Yazam sells new economy networking organisation back
to its members for $1 million
By Rick Wray
First Tuesday, the networking organisation that became synonymous with
Europe's dotcom boom, has been sold back to the people that operate
First Tuesday events in 110 cities across the globe for just over $1
million (1.08 million euros)
It's a bargain basement price for a business that was bought by
Israeli incubator Yazam for approximately $50 million (54 million
euros) last July.
The organisers of First Tuesday events, represented by a nine-person
board headed by unofficial chairman Susan Kish, beat rival bids from
conference organisers looking to capitalise on the First Tuesday brand
name.
It is unclear what will happen to the handful of staff that still work
at the First Tuesday headquarters in London, but chief executive Reade
Fahs is expected to lose his place and take up a lesser role.
Kish told The Standard Europe that the cash was raised from angel
investors known to the nine-person board of representatives.
However, the representatives are now putting together a complex
shareholding structure which will allow First Tuesday's 450-plus event
organisers to put cash into the buyout and gain a stake in the
business.
"We want the network to buy into this deal so we are trying to put
together a creative structure which lets everybody get involved in
this," she said.
She added that First Tuesday is now in talks with a number of
potential partners who may be able to help bankroll the buy-out.
"We are pretty optimistic that we will be able to close deals with
global partners," she said. "We have had an excellent response
recently," she said.
First Tuesday was founded just over two years ago by four friends who
held events in a bar in London's trendy Soho district. However, all
four have since left the business. The last to leave, John Browning,
is setting up an independent company which will organise conferences
in the Internet sector.
First Tuesday was put up for sale by Yazam as the result of a
restructuring which has lead to the closure of its European
operations.
Yazam has fallen foul of investors' change of heart against Internet
incubators. While it still has about $35 million (38 million euros) in
the bank, at least one of its shareholders, Texas Pacific Group, wants
to cut its losses.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
WORTH REPEATING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Our traffic and editorial reputation have been growing fast, but
trading conditions for Internet-based companies are extraordinarily
challenging."
Press statement announcing the closure of eCountries
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BRIEFS
~~~~~~
NAPSTER NOBBLED: The US federal court held Napster responsible for its
users' infringement of copyrights, but stopped short of ordering an
immediate shutdown. Napster's rivals saw their share prices jump on
the news. Meanwhile, German media giant Bertelsmann, which is
developing a fee-paying business model with the online song-swap
company, said it expects no free Web-based music exchange service to
survive in the long-term. For full coverage see:
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=303980&d=1039811
IBM CHARGE: Five Holocaust survivors are filing a class-action suit
against IBM, charging that the huge technology company "aided and
abetted crimes against humanity" by providing the punch-card systems
used to catalogue and process victims of the Nazi genocide. The
plaintiffs claim that IBM not only profited from the use of its
products in the Holocaust, but that it has refused historians and
others access to archive evidence.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=303980&d=1039812
ORANGE SQUASH: France Tilicom fixed the price of shares in the IPO of
its mobile telecommunications subsidiary Orange at 10 euros. But the
price was in the lower half of the range that France Tilicom proposed
when it revised the terms of its offer last Thursday, cutting 10
billion euros from Orange's value at a stroke. The stock's first day
on the markets saw only flat trading. Nevertheless, France Tilicom
hailed the IPO as a success with the offer 2.6 times oversubscribed.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=303980&d=1039813
TISCALI DEPARTURE: James Kinsella, acting CEO of Italian ISP Tiscali,
resigned suddenly, citing a difference of opinion with company founder
and Chairman Renato Soru. "I'm resigning because we disagree on the
scope of the role of the CEO," Kinsella told The Standard Europe The
high-level departure marks the second time in a week that an American
executive has left one of Europe's top technology firms. Robert Davis
stepped down as CEO of Terra Lycos because of continuing clashes with
the board.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=303980&d=1039814
VODAFONE PLAY(STATION): Vodafone has struck an alliance with Sony's
PlayStation computer games division that will pave the way for a
long-term partnership in mobile phone games. The companies said they
would research ways of "extending the PlayStation experience into the
Vodafone mobile phone environment." Both companies hinted a broader
alliance in the future that could provide games over third-generation
mobile networks.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=303980&d=1039815
ECOUNTRIES FALL: Less than five months after its launch, eCountries,
the business-to-business publishing and online marketplace, said it is
closing because it has been unable to attract further funding. The
site was a blend of global news and analysis. The business model was
to earn revenues from advertising, partnerships, syndication and sales
of research reports, with brokers' fees for matchmaking companies with
services expected to account for the bulk of earnings.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=303980&d=1039816
BID FOR FREEDOM: Tim Jackson, the founder of online auction site
QXL.com, has resigned as managing director of the European operation
of The Carlyle Group, the American venture capital organisation. His
resignation comes just two months after the departure of Jean-Bernard
Tellio from Carlyle Internet Partners Europe (CIPE), and will raise
further concerns about the viability of the venture capitalist firm in
Europe. The company is already shifting its focus away from e-commerce
ventures, where Jackson's expertise lies, towards more specialised
technology companies.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=303980&d=1039817
COVER STORY: A software product that allows ISPs and Internet cafes to
place ads over existing banners on Web pages has been launched. The
system is intended to divert revenue away from content providers and
towards those who control access to the Internet. Developed in Leeds,
England, Fortino exploits the marketing information provided by
customers who sign up to an ISP. But content providers are unlikely to
be amused by this threat to one of the few established revenue streams
open to them.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=303980&d=1039818
WATCHDOG GROWLS: The Independent Television Commission (ITC), the UK's
broadcasting watchdog, set out new guidelines for the regulation of
interactive television. It promised to exercise a "light touch"
towards regulation, putting the viewers first and emphasising that
"regulation must not impose unnecessary costs or restraints". The two
areas it considers most important are the separation of advertising
content from editorial content and the protection of children.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=303980&d=1039819
CLICKS AND TRIPS: Online retailer Lastminute.com said it was joining
hands with travel agent Thomas Cook's Internet arm to lure more
customers. The late bookings firm, one of only a few British online
retailers still in business, said it was on track to make a profit by
the end of 2002. Lastminute said customers who visit its site to book
a holiday more than six weeks before departure will be directed to a
site showing millions of holidays available on thomascook.com.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=303980&d=1039820
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BY THE NUMBERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Holiday purchases tempt Britons to spend more money online than
anything else, according to new survey by NOP Research Group. The only
other market that came close was the grocery shopping. The report
questioned 31,563 people last December.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_204353.html?menu=news.surveys
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STAFF
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Written by James Price. Send news tips and press releases to
[log in to unmask] at The Industry Standard's London bureau.
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