Kursverdoppelung bei Actua Corporation (vorm. Internet Capital)
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Very important news from outsourcing-procurement
Posted: Wednesday, August 19, 2009, 11:30AM
Manufacturers lead growth in procurement outsourcing market
19 Aug 09
Manufacturers lead growth in procurement outsourcing market
Outsourcing transaction volume increased 10% globally-and 6% percent in North America-in the second quarter of 2009, compared to the previous quarter this year, according to a recent report by the Dallas-based Everest Research Institute.
Led by contracts signed by financial services and manufacturing firms, transaction volume in the rest of the world (including Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Latin America) increased by 25%.
Overall, large manufacturers helped lead the procurement outsourcing market to growth of 30% in 2008, says Everest, with manufacturing accounting for nearly 70% of new contracts signed. Of these, over two-thirds had an element of offshoring, with the proportion of new contracts signed comprising an offshoring element rising from 60% in 2007 to 90% in 2008.
Two suppliers-IBM and ICG Commerce-accounted for more than 60% of the annual contract value in manufacturing, followed by second-tier vendors such as Infosys and Xchanging.
ICG Commerce Increases Spend Under Management 50% to More than $10 Billion Since Start of Economic Crisis
Results Underscore Trend of Fortune 1000 Companies Increasingly Looking to Procurement Outsourcing to Maximize and Accelerate Cost Reductions
PHILADELPHIA - Monday, March 09, 2009 - ICG Commerce, the leading procurement outsourcing specialist,
announced today that the amount of spend the company manages for leading companies spiked to $10.2 billion,
a 50% increase since September 30th of last year. Driving this increase are new or expanded contracts with
industry titans including Whirlpool, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Goodyear, Cameron Industries and a leading software
provider. These contracts are collectively worth $136 MM in total contract value, a 50% increase over the total
value contracted during the full year 2007.
“As current economic conditions force companies to seek additional ways to cut costs, results-oriented leaders
are turning to procurement outsourcing,” said Carl Guarino, Chief Executive Officer, ICG Commerce. “Our recently
accelerated customer activity is a testament to our proven ability to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in
savings that drop straight to the bottom-line.”
According to the research and advisory firm, The Everest Group, procurement outsourcing delivers 5 times more
savings than other outsourcing endeavors, like IT or HR outsourcing. Unlike these other outsourcing solutions,
which focus on headcount reductions through technology and labor arbitrage, procurement outsourcing focuses on
driving down the costs of purchased goods and services. For many companies these purchases, which fall into
categories, like logistics, marketing services, IT/telecom, packaging and travel, represent over $1 billion of
expenditures.
“Globalization and outsourcing are megatrends that are accelerating dramatically in today’s economic climate,” says
The Hackett Group’s Procurement Research Director, Pierre Mitchell. “Our recent 2009 Procurement Key Issues study
indicates that 50% of Procurement organizations plan to use BPO as part of their globalization efforts.”
For nearly a decade, ICG Commerce has focused on helping Fortune 1000 clients like Kimberly Clark, Hertz, Chiquita,
Greif and many others, expand and accelerate aggressive cost reduction programs. ICG Commerce delivers savings
by infusing sourcing specialists who bring deep category expertise and access to intelligence data that compounds
as they work across numerous Fortune 1000 companies.
About ICG Commerce, Inc.
ICG Commerce is the leading procurement outsourcing specialist delivering comprehensive source-to-pay
services. Results-driven leaders access ICG Commerce’s experienced resources and market intelligence to better
manage procurement and logistics spend, gaining significant savings and enhanced visibility and control.
ICG Commerce is a privately held company founded in 1992 and a member of Internet Capital Group's (Nasdaq: ICGE)
network of partner companies. The company has earned recognition from Forbes, Fortune, The International
Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) and leading industry analysts for its leadership in procurement
outsourcing. For more information: www.icgcommerce.com
Phila. firms fund ClickEquationsPhiladelphia Business Journal - by Peter Key Staff Writer
ClickEquations Inc. has raised $3 million in venture capital from eight investors, according to a Form D filing the Conshohocken, Pa., company has made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The investors included Emerald Stage2 Ventures, MentorTech Ventures and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, all of which are based in Philadelphia, according to Alex Cohen, ClickEquations' marketing manager.
Saul Richter, a managing partner with Emerald Stage2, will join ClickEquations’ board of directors, Cohen said.
All ClickEquations’ previous investors participated in the funding, Cohen said. The company’s previous investors include Internet Capital Group Inc. and Novitas Capital, which are based in Wayne, Pa., and First Round Capital of West Conshohocken.
ClickEquations will use the money to finance an expansion that it’s already begun.
The company recently enabled its software, which lets users manage search-engine advertising, to handle the currencies and alphabetic characters used in all the Americas, as well as Europe and Australia.
It also began hiring people as part of an effort to increase its staff to 30 from 23.
Before this financing round Internet Capital owned 30% of Clickeqation.
After the buy of Clickequation there was an additional buy with an excellent future:
Acquirgy™ Completes Purchase Of SendTec Inc.'s Assets
St. Petersburg, Florida – August 5, 2009 – Acquirgy™, a premier company specializing in Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Direct Response Television (DRTV) services, concluded the purchase of the operating assets of SendTec, Inc., a multichannel integrated direct marketing company, on July 31, 2009.
The purchase was funded by management, Cross Atlantic Capital Partners and Internet Capital Group. The funding also included growth capital to expand the company’s operations in the direct marketing industry. Through this agreement, key SendTec executives and managers including Paul Soltoff, CEO and founder; Steven Morvay, managing director; Donald Gould, CFO; Irv Brechner, executive vice president business development; and Harry Greene, executive vice president production services have joined Acquirgy.
As a result of the acquisition, Acquirgy will provide the industry’s most comprehensive levels of account service, as well as creative and production expertise with integrated multichannel software platforms to create the foremost SEM and DRTV full-service agency. SEM services include outsourced paid search management, SEM Performance Consulting (SEMpc™) for clients managing search in-house and Search Engine Optimization. DRTV services include comprehensive script-to-screen DRTV creative, production and media services. Acquirgy is a private company headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida with offices in New York City and clients consisting of over 30 global advertisers, national brands and direct response marketers such as CDW Corporation, Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) and Euro-Pro Corporation.
CEO Paul Soltoff stated, “With our deep multichannel direct marketing capabilities, strong customer base and backing from our financial partners, Acquirgy is uniquely positioned to provide clients the most knowledge-driven and service-based marketing platform in the search and DRTV industries.”
For more information on Acquirgy, visit www.acquirgy.com.
About Acquirgy
Doing business as Acquirgy, PHIDS, Inc. is a newly formed company which purchased the operating assets of SendTec, Inc. It will soon change its corporate name to Acquirgy, Inc. For more information, visit www.acquirgy.com.
About Cross Atlantic Capital Partners
Cross Atlantic Capital Partners is an international venture capital firm focused on investing in innovative technology and technology-enabled services companies. Through its offices in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Dublin, Ireland and Edinburgh, Scotland, Cross Atlantic leverages its deep technology industry insights and business acumen to provide its portfolio companies and business partners with a distinct perspective. With four funds totaling nearly $500 million under management, Cross Atlantic is closely engaged with an extensive network of resources to nurture and grow its portfolio companies and provide superior returns to its investors. For more information, visit www.xacp.com.
About Internet Capital Group
Internet Capital Group acquires and builds Internet software and services companies that drive business productivity and reduce transaction costs between firms. Internet Capital Group also focuses on Internet marketing and services companies. Included in its network of partner companies are ICG Commerce, a leading business process outsourcing company, Metastorm, a leading provider of business process management software, and customer acquisition platform companies such as WhiteFence and Channel Intelligence. For more information, visit www.internetcapital.com.
Internet Capital Group Announces Channel Intelligence's Acquisition of Vcommerce
Press Release
Source: Internet Capital Group, Inc.
On Tuesday September 1, 2009, 2:56 pm ED
Companies:Internet Capital Group Inc.
WAYNE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Internet Capital Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:ICGE - News) today announced that its partner company, Channel Intelligence (“CI”), a provider of enterprise e-commerce solutions for manufacturers and online retailers, acquired the key assets of ICG partner company Vcommerce, a provider of Web-based e-commerce solutions. The purchase was funded through an equity financing at CI that was led by ICG. As a result of this financing, ICG increased its ownership in CI from 46% to approximately 50%.
This acquisition adds Vcommerce’s storefront and fulfillment services to Channel Intelligence’s performance-based marketing solutions for manufacturers, publishers and retailers. The combined company will provide Commerce Platform as a Service (“PaaS”) solutions that annually refer over $2 billion in sales to leading manufacturers and retailers such as Best Buy, HP Home and Home Office, Panasonic, Neiman Marcus, Philips, Target, Garmin, OfficeMax, Samsung, Charming Shoppes, Black & Decker and hundreds more.
“The Vcommerce platform provides unique capabilities that Channel Intelligence can leverage with its existing customer base,” said Doug Alexander, President of Internet Capital Group. “ICG views this acquisition as a great opportunity to enhance the CI platform through the addition of Vcommerce’s technology while increasing its ownership in CI, a company we believe holds significant potential to increase stockholder value.”
About Internet Capital Group
Internet Capital Group (www.internetcapital.com) owns and builds Internet software companies that drive business productivity and reduce transaction costs between firms. Founded in 1996, ICG devotes its expertise and capital to maximizing the success of these platform companies that are delivering on-demand software and service applications to customers worldwide.
About Channel Intelligence, Inc. (CI):
CI is a performance marketing and services company focused on helping retailers, manufacturers and other advertisers make their products and services easier for consumers to find and buy on the Internet and in local retail stores. The CI product database is capable of storing, managing, optimizing and analyzing hundreds of millions of products every day. This database powers product data for leading manufacturers and retailers in Computing, Home Improvement, Appliances, Consumer Electronics, Toys and other Consumer Product industries such as Apparel, Cosmetics and Jewelry. CI offers innovative suites of services for hundreds of the world's best known manufacturers, retailers and publishers and provides distribution of product data to over 50 destination websites, including the proprietary CI Ad Network. Cultivating partnerships with some of the best solution providers in the eCommerce arena, CI is a partner company of Internet Capital Group (Nasdaq:ICGE - News) and Aweida Capital Management. CI was founded in 1999 by CEO Robert Wight and EVP Alan Fulmer and is headquartered in Orlando, Fla. Learn more at http://www.channelintelligence.com.
Gartner Survey Shows More Than Half of Respondents Plan to Increase Spending on BPM by More Than 5 Percent in Next 12 Months
Future of BPM to Be Discussed at Gartner BPM Summit, October 5-7 in Orlando
STAMFORD, Conn., August 3, 2009 —
Most business process management (BPM) practitioners expect their organizations to increase their spending on BPM by at least 5 percent over the next 12 months, according to recent surveys by Gartner, Inc. Despite economic turbulence, more than half of those surveyed plan to increase their spending on BPM efforts by more than 5 percent, and over a third of respondents plan to increase BPM spending by more than 10 percent.
The findings are based on surveys conducted at two Gartner BPM conferences. In February 2009, more than 300 business and IT professionals from 34 countries attended the fourth annual Gartner BPM Summit in London. In March 2009, 500 business and IT professionals attended the seventh annual Gartner BPM Summit in San Diego.
"Most of the BPM practitioners we surveyed were somewhat optimistic about their companies' growth prospects in fiscal year 2009," said Michele Cantara, research vice president at Gartner. "Only 23 percent anticipated any degree of revenue decline, while 42 percent anticipated some growth, suggesting that BPM helps companies thrive and isn't just a survival tactic."
Although respondents were expecting fiscal year 2009 revenue to be stable or to grow, they indicated that they were able to funnel only 40 percent of their organizations' investments into growth or transformation initiatives. With 60 percent of overall funding going to "business as usual," Gartner predicts that BPM may be a way for companies to do more with less, and to free up more funding for growth and transformation initiatives.
The survey found that for the most part, BPM Summit attendees aren't aggressive technology adopters. Only 12 percent of survey participants said that their organizations had an aggressive technology adoption profile. Although the respondents aren't aggressive technology adopters, all were implementing or planning to implement BPM projects during the next 12 months. This finding suggests that this survey population doesn't view BPM as "bleeding edge," and may signal that BPM is crossing the chasm toward mainstream adoption.
The BPM Summits' attendees were also asked to indicate whether business or IT (or both) was the primary organization driving their BPM projects and programs. The responses underscored that BPM isn't business- or IT-led. Most often (41 percent), BPM is jointly led by business and IT, and when it's not jointly led, business and IT are nearly equally likely to be leading BPM efforts.
"Overall, the survey responses suggest an optimistic outlook for the BPM market and also highlight trends we've observed in customer inquiries and reference checks; that is that companies don't see BPM as a luxury," said Ms. Cantara. "Instead, BPM is quickly becoming an alternative and better way of developing solutions and improving processes for many companies."
Ms. Cantara said that companies that ramp up their BPM investments now will be poised for growth when the economy recovers. She recommended that organizations use BPM to help prioritize which existing projects, suspended projects and new projects will be prioritized, sequenced, funded and staffed when business growth returns.
Ms. Cantara will provide more detailed analysis at the Gartner BPM Summit taking place October 5-7 in Orlando, Florida. This Summit offers the latest insight on creating and sustaining an agile process-powered organization and will deliver actionable insights to help companies through today's economic pressures. The event will showcase the latest process management strategies, implementation tactics and leading technologies to place a company in a stronger position to come out ahead. Additional information is available at www.gartner.com/us/bpm. Members of the media can register by sending an e-mail to Christy Pettey at christy.pettey@gartner.com.
Additional information is available in the Gartner report "Despite Turbulent Economy, Companies Expect to Increase BPM Spending by More than 10% in 2009." The report is available on Gartner's Web site at http://www.gartner.com/...rch&id=1007312&subref=simplesearch.
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/...61141&tof=1&frt=2#261141
http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090902/...-for/?reflink=ATD_yahoo_ticker
Internet Capital hält 50% an Channelintelligece, einem Unternehmen wie Teracent:
www.channelintelligence.com
http://www.channelintelligence.com/corporate/customers.html
http://www.vcommerce.com/clients.shtml
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/...61160&tof=1&frt=2#261160
http://finance.yahoo.com/...hlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined
Aber Du hast sicher recht damit, dass die Aktie weit unter Inventarwert notiert. Ein Grund dafür ist sicherlich, dass diese Aktien im Jahr 2000 einen Wert hatte, der um den Faktor 700 höher war. Und zwar war der damalige Höchstkurs 4.280 Dollar und er stürzte dann innerhalb von 2 Jahren auf 3,40 Dollar - also um mehr als das Tausendfache - ab. Dass bei der hohen Marktkaptialisierung des Jahres 2000 von ca. 30 Milliarden Dollar viele Anleger einige Stücke im Depot hatten, dürfte wohl klar sein - und diese negativen Emotionen dieser vielen Eigner kannst ja auch auf diesem Board und anderen Boards noch nachlesen. Den Abbau dieser negativen Emotioen dauert sehr lang - auch länger als ich ihn eingeschätzt habe. In der Aktie sind daher zu 80% institutionelle Anleger, die durch diese Emotionen weniger beeinflusst werden - weniger Privatanleger mit ihren Emotionen und auch wenig Publikumfonds, die wiederum auf Privatanleger und deren Emotionen Rücksicht nehmen. Auf der anderen Seite ist der langsame Abbau dieser Emotionen für einen langfristigen Anleger eine zusätzliche Quelle für Kurssteigerungen. Der zweite Grund für die Unterbewertung ist meiner Ansicht, dass ein Wechsel in der Geschäftsstrategie zu Veränderungen in der Anlegerstruktur führte: Internet Capital arbeitet heute zu fast 100% mit Eigenkapital, hatte zwar früher im Vergleich zu anderen Fallen Angels auch relativ niedrige Schulden, aber es waren welche da, die dann bei fallenden Vermögensrpreisen schließlich zu einer dann doch relativen hohen Fremdkapitalfinanzierung führten. Vor ca. vier oder fünf Jahren hat dann Internet Capital sein Fremdkapital fast total und dann spater total abgebaut - allerdings um den Preis einer Fast-Verdreifachung der Aktienzahl. Diese Verdreifachung der Aktienzahl führte nun dazu, dass der Gewinnhebel nicht mehr so wie früher funktioniert und die Aktien damit für Zocker uninteressant wurde - sie stiegen aus. An ihre Stelle hätten jetzt konserative Anleger einsteigen mussen - aber die blieben aus, weil Internet Capital den Wechsel in der Geschäftsstrategie nicht genügend transparent machte, dass es eigentlich ein relativ konseratives Investment sei. Warum? Nun, das hängt sicherlich auch damit zusammen, dass Internet Capital nicht auf Außenfinzierung angewiesen ist - weder in Form von Fremdfinanzierung durch Anleihen noch durch Eigenfinanzierung über eine Kapitalerhöung, sodass dem Management die Aktienkursenwicklung auf kurze und mittlere Sicht egal ist bzw. man eventuell sogar an einem langsamen Einstieg interessiert ist, um nahestehenden Gruppen einen nicht zu teuren Einstieg zu ermöglichen.
Das letzte Beispiel ist Channelintelligence, wo Internet Capital 46% hält, und die eine andere Internet-Capital-Beteiligung, nämlich Vcommerce, wo Internet Capital 53 hielt, kauften. Zusammen kommt diese Gesellschaft jetzt auf ein Umsatzvolumen von ca. 30 Millionen, vermutlich auch etwas mehr, da ChannelIntelligence auch erhebliches organisches Wachstum aufweist. Für einen Börsengang ist ein solche Unternehmen noch zu klein, aber Internet Capital ist seit ca. zwei Jahren an einem weiteren kleineren Unternehmen in diesem Bereich beteiligt und hat zusammen mit einem anderen Wagnisfinanzierer Unternehmensteile aus einer Insolvenzmasse mit schon betächtlichen Umsätzen übernommen und ein neues Unternehmen eingebracht. Hier "braut" sich vermutlich etwas zusammen, das in 2011 0der 2012 in einem Internetunternehmen enden könnte, das mit ca. 100 Millionen Umsatz oder mehr durchaus börsenfähig ist.
Channel Intelligence Acquires Storefront, Order Management and Fulfillment Assets From Vcommerce
On Tuesday September 1, 2009, 3:46 pm EDT
ORLANDO, FL--(Marketwire - 09/01/09) - Channel Intelligence, Inc. (CI), a partner company of Internet Capital Group (NASDAQ:ICGE - News), today announced the acquisition of certain key assets of Vcommerce, a provider of ecommerce software solutions located in Scottsdale, AZ. With the newly acquired assets, CI will, through a new, wholly owned subsidiary, provide storefront, order management and fulfillment services to retailers, manufacturers and publishers across several industry verticals. Key customers include Cisco Consumer Products and The McGraw-Hill Companies.
The acquisition of the Vcommerce assets will expand CI's e-commerce platform services for retailers, publishers and manufacturers, increasing its overall customer base to 235, with more than 25 percent represented in the Internet Retailer Top 250. The combination of the Vcommerce storefront and fulfillment services with Channel Intelligence's industry leading performance based marketing solutions will permit CI to offer the industry's most complete set of services for manufacturers, publishers and retailers.
Channel Intelligence has been the industry leader in helping manufacturers drive sales to their channel partners with over 80 percent market share. With the addition of its display advertising, social networking and the Vcommerce fulfillment and storefront assets, CI is now more deeply aligned with a manufacturer's overall e-commerce strategy. By partnering with manufacturers and their advertising agencies to drive traffic, process orders, and track sales directly from the manufacturer's on-line store and through CI's vast world-wide network of large and specialty retailers, CI provides a compelling performance-based solution for manufacturers.
For its retail customers, CI now adds complete order management and fulfillment services to its portfolio, allowing retailers to maximize their catalogs and enable seamless integration across their channel partners. These capabilities, combined with CI's existing comparison shopping engine service and new performance advertising and search engine marketing services, provides a complete end-to-end solution for retailers to drive profitable sales from these programs.
"We are very excited about this acquisition because of Vcommerce's best-in-class technology and great people," said Robert Wight, Co-Founder and CEO of Channel Intelligence. "Channel Intelligence has always been the leader in helping manufacturers and retailers drive sales, largely due to our unique ability to work across all channels with such a large and diverse group of customers. With the addition of the Vcommerce technology, we now have a truly integrated experience for our customers."
With its new capabilities, CI will be a leading provider of Commerce Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions, with over $2B annually in referred sales to leading manufacturers and retailers such as Best Buy, HP Home and Home Office, Kimberly-Clark, Neiman Marcus, Philips, Target, Garmin, OfficeMax, Samsung, Charming Shoppes, Black & Decker and hundreds more.
CI will now maintain a west coast office in Phoenix, AZ, in addition to its headquarters located in Orlando, FL.
Monday, August 31, 2009, 10:34am EDT | Modified: Monday, August 31, 2009, 11:26am
Phila. firms fund ClickEquationsPhiladelphia Business Journal - by Peter Key Staff Writer
ClickEquations Inc. has raised $3 million in venture capital from eight investors, according to a Form D filing the Conshohocken, Pa., company has made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The investors included Emerald Stage2 Ventures, MentorTech Ventures and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, all of which are based in Philadelphia, according to Alex Cohen, ClickEquations' marketing manager.
Saul Richter, a managing partner with Emerald Stage2, will join ClickEquations’ board of directors, Cohen said.
All ClickEquations’ previous investors participated in the funding, Cohen said. The company’s previous investors include Internet Capital Group Inc. and Novitas Capital, which are based in Wayne, Pa., and First Round Capital of West Conshohocken.
ClickEquations will use the money to finance an expansion that it’s already begun.
The company recently enabled its software, which lets users manage search-engine advertising, to handle the currencies and alphabetic characters used in all the Americas, as well as Europe and Australia.
It also began hiring people as part of an effort to increase its staff to 30 from 23.
Acquirgy Completes Purchase of SendTec Inc.'s Assets
Press Release
Source: Acquirgy
On Wednesday August 5, 2009, 9:00 am EDT
Buzz up! 0 Print
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acquirgy™, a premier company specializing in Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Direct Response Television (DRTV) services, concluded the purchase of the operating assets of SendTec, Inc., a multichannel integrated direct marketing company, on July 31, 2009.
The purchase was funded by management, Cross Atlantic Capital Partners and Internet Capital Group. The funding also included growth capital to expand the company’s operations in the direct marketing industry. Through this agreement, key SendTec executives and managers including Paul Soltoff, CEO and founder; Steven Morvay, managing director; Donald Gould, CFO; Irv Brechner, executive vice president business development; and Harry Greene, executive vice president production services have joined Acquirgy.
As a result of the acquisition, Acquirgy will provide the industry’s most comprehensive levels of account service, as well as creative and production expertise with integrated multichannel software platforms to create the foremost SEM and DRTV full-service agency. SEM services include outsourced paid search management, SEM Performance Consulting (SEMpc™) for clients managing search in-house and Search Engine Optimization. DRTV services include comprehensive script-to-screen DRTV creative, production and media services. Acquirgy is a private company headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida with offices in New York City and clients consisting of over 30 global advertisers, national brands and direct response marketers such as CDW Corporation, Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU - News) and Euro-Pro Corporation.
CEO Paul Soltoff stated, “With our deep multichannel direct marketing capabilities, strong customer base and backing from our financial partners, Acquirgy is uniquely positioned to provide clients the most knowledge-driven and service-based marketing platform in the search and DRTV industries.”
For more information on Acquirgy, visit www.acquirgy.com.
About Acquirgy
Doing business as Acquirgy, PHIDS, Inc. is a newly formed company which purchased the operating assets of SendTec, Inc. It will soon change its corporate name to Acquirgy, Inc. For more information, visit www.acquirgy.com.
About Cross Atlantic Capital Partners
Cross Atlantic Capital Partners is an international venture capital firm focused on investing in innovative technology and technology-enabled services companies. Through its offices in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Dublin, Ireland and Edinburgh, Scotland, Cross Atlantic leverages its deep technology industry insights and business acumen to provide its portfolio companies and business partners with a distinct perspective. With four funds totaling nearly $500 million under management, Cross Atlantic is closely engaged with an extensive network of resources to nurture and grow its portfolio companies and provide superior returns to its investors. For more information, visit www.xacp.com.
About Internet Capital Group
Internet Capital Group acquires and builds Internet software and services companies that drive business productivity and reduce transaction costs between firms. Internet Capital Group also focuses on Internet marketing and services companies. Included in its network of partner companies are ICG Commerce, a leading business process outsourcing company, Metastorm, a leading provider of business process management software, and customer acquisition platform companies such as WhiteFence and Channel Intelligence. For more information, visit www.InternetCapital.com.
U.S. Equities
The IPO Class of 2010
Steve Schaefer, 09.01.09, 02:00 PM EDT
The IPO market has thawed after an extended freeze, but the real rebound will come next year.
In Pictures: Potential 2009 IPOs The market for public stock offerings froze up during the equity market dislocation following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, and even though conditions have thawed over recent months the real rebound is on hold until 2010 when a number of high-quality companies could hit the market in a period reminiscent of another post-recession comeback. Even despite recent turmoil, the IPO market never truly recovered from its peak at the end of the dotcom bubble. There's a ways to go.
After a long dormant period, companies that would already be public in better times will be coming to market further along the development curve, but at valuations that are far more palatable to investors. Matt Regan, a managing director at W.R. Hambrecht, finds historical similarities to the IPO bumper crop of 1986, when tech heavyweights Microsoft ( MSFT - news - people ), Oracle ( ORCL - news - people ), Sun Microsystems ( JAVA - news - people ) and Adobe Systems ( ADBE - news - people ) all went public coming out of the lean years that followed the 1982-83 recession, posted strong returns for shareholders over the ensuing years and became industry heavyweights.
Technology companies are going to lead this recovery too, Regan says, since they are not coming off a bubble like financial or housing-related stocks. With the merger option off the table for many companies due to the long lockup in credit markets that has only recently loosened, the IPO route is the logical exit for most companies backed by venture capital or private equity firms, Regan added.
In Pictures: Potential 2009 IPOs
Don't expect the IPO market to retreat to its bubble-happy ways of the late-90s though. Regulatory hurdles like Sarbanes-Oxley have made the IPO process far more rigorous than it was in the days of the tech bubble, and some management teams have no interest in taking their businesses to the public market. Phil Clough, a managing general partner at ABS Capital Partners who sits on the board of Rosetta Stone ( RST - news - people ), said some executives who have been through the process and then started new companies are not interested in the increased regulatory scrutiny and shareholder criticism that comes with the territory as a public company.
Bob Farrell is the chief executive of business software firm Metastorm, which pulled its S-1 registration filing in November 2008, when capital markets were in disarray and every day brought the threat of another shock to the system. Farrell told Forbes back in June that he still saw an IPO as a good way for Metastorm to raise funds for acquisitions that will boost its growth, but felt that institutional investors still weren't quite ready to jump back into software offerings due to the lack of appetite for any risk.
Conditions have changed though, and Farrell sees important signs of stability that are necessary to get the IPO market back on track. "If we had an S-1 out now there's no way I'd pull it," Farrell said, but for now Metastorm is content to execute its strategy and wait for more consistency before it resumes its effort to go public.
"I've met with bankers who are portraying the pickup in activity as a growing trend and pushing for deals," Farrell said, noting that the deals that have priced this year have performed well. But for the companies that have been able to come to market this year, it hasn't been all smooth sailing. Most have seen growth in their share price post-IPO, but there have also been hiccups. Rosetta Stone rose steadily after pricing its offering in April, but lowered its full-year guidance and pulled back a planned $137 million secondary offering Aug. 17, just a few weeks after issuing strong second-quarter numbers at the end of July.
Regan says that type of misstep is magnified in a still fragile environment like the current one. To wit, Rosetta Stone's shares, which opened for trading at $23.00 in April, then rose to nearly $33.00, were cut by a third when it revised its outlook and have struggled to come back since.
Paul Bard, vice president of Greenwich, Conn.-based independent research shop Renaissance Capital that specializes in IPOs, says a healthy IPO market has a pace of about 15-20 offerings a month, a level it took six months to reach in 2009. Like other industry observers though, Renaissance sees signs of a pick-up, estimating another 20-30 deals will price by the end of 2009 between companies that have already registered their offerings and others that are making final preparations.
, Renaissance offered a handful of potential companies that may be poised to lead the IPO class of 2010. The names range from high-profile companies like Facebook and LinkedIn to venture-backed start-ups like ZipCar and Tesla Motors. Bard also points to private equity- or government-backed companies that may be looking to return to the public markets next year, including Toys R Us, General Motors and hospital operator HCA.
Jackie Kelley, the Americas IPO leader at Ernst & Young, found similar signs of renewed activity. Positive trends from the second quarter -- fewer pulled filings, more deals pricing and moving out of the pipeline -- have continued through the beginning of the third quarter. Kelley also points out that much of the action is going on behind the scenes and doesn't show up in present data. "Ernst & Young is working with so many companies right now that are either prepping IPOs or looking into getting the process started," she said.
Even if the IPO market has turned the corner and ready to bounce back -- Regan cautions that "all bets are off if the market re-tests its March lows" -- it will take much longer to determine if the crop of newly-public companies that come out of this recession will be able to hold a candle to the heavyweights that endured another tough period before launching their public lives in 1986.
Still, the opportunity for venture capitalists and other private owners to take companies public is an important driver for innovation in the broader economy.
Bob Farrell is the chief executive of business software firm Metastorm, which pulled its S-1 registration filing in November 2008, when capital markets were in disarray and every day brought the threat of another shock to the system. Farrell told Forbes back in June that he still saw an IPO as a good way for Metastorm to raise funds for acquisitions that will boost its growth, but felt that institutional investors still weren't quite ready to jump back into software offerings due to the lack of appetite for any risk.
Conditions have changed though, and Farrell sees important signs of stability that are necessary to get the IPO market back on track. "If we had an S-1 out now there's no way I'd pull it," Farrell said, but for now Metastorm is content to execute its strategy and wait for more consistency before it resumes its effort to go public.
"I've met with bankers who are portraying the pickup in activity as a growing trend and pushing for deals," Farrell said, noting that the deals that have priced this year have performed well. But for the companies that have been able to come to market this year, it hasn't been all smooth sailing. Most have seen growth in their share price post-IPO, but there have also been hiccups.
Metastorm hatte vor den Marktturbulenzen in 2008 schon einen Ipo gefiled, ihn dann aber wegen der Marktturbulenzen verschoben. Obwohl Farrrell einem Ipo nicht abgeneigt ist, will er offensichtlich noch warten, bis der Markt noch stabiler ist. Organisches Wachstum kann Metastrom, das Gewinne schreibt, problemlos aus dem eigenen Cash Flow finanzieren. Und für Zukäufe, die Metastorm angekündigt hat, stehen - wie Farrell in einem anderen Interview betonte - als Alternative auch eine weitere Finanzierungsrunde der Wagnisfinanzierer mit Internet Capital an der Spitze zur Verfügung.
That are all facts about the partner-companies - take control of that:
www.icgcommerce.com
Internet Capital owns 64% of ICGCommerce.
www.metastorm.com
Internet Capital owns 32% of Metastorm.
www. starcite.com
Internet Capital owns 35% of Starcite.
www.freeborders.com
Internet Capital owns 31% of Freeborders
www.channelintelligence.com
Internet Capital owns 50% of Channelintelligence
www.blackboard.com
Internet Capital owns 2.2 million Blackboard-shares
www.whitefence.com
Internet Capital owns 35% of whitefence
www.investorforce.com
Internet Capital owns 81% of Investorforce
www.anthemvp.com
Internet Capital owns 9% of Anthem Venture
and additional a lot of smaller ownerships and 60 million cash by no debts. But the market-cap is only about a quarter billion.
Metastorm in the market in a big way
Posted by Brenon Daly on May 19, 2009
Contact: Brenon Daly
If Metastorm does re-paper an S-1, it will be a much larger company than the one that filed for an IPO last year. (The business process management (BPM) vendor put in its paperwork in mid-May and then pulled it in mid-September.) The growth will come both organically and from acquisition, CEO Bob Farrell said Monday during a presentation at the JMP Securities Research Conference.
In terms of organic growth, Farrell projected that the company would ring up about $90m in revenue this year, up from about $77m in 2008. Additionally, Farrell said he expected to add to the company’s top line with a shopping trip. We understand Metastorm has three term sheets out for possible acquisitions, with one possibly closing in the summer. One of the potential deals could double the company’s revenue. Farrell said his company has considered outside funding for a purchase, which is how it covered its 2007 acquisition of Proforma.
In terms of target markets, Metastorm is looking in several areas, including risk and compliance, collaboration and document management. In terms of possible BPM-document management transactions, we would note that we recently heard of deal flow going the other way. Open Text, having consolidated much of the content management market, said it may well look to buy its way into the BPM market.
Das mit dem Expandieren erkennt man am besten durch den folgenden Satz: "One of the potential deals could double the company’s revenue. Farrell said his company has considered outside funding for a purchase, which is how it covered its 2007 acquisition of Proforma." In einem anderen Interview hat Farrell angeführt, dass sich Internet Capital an einer evenutell weiteren Finanzierungsrunde für weitere Aufkäufe beteiligen wird.
Der Netzwerkeffekt (auch Netzeffekt) gehört zu den positiven externen Effekten. Er beschreibt, dass der Nutzen an einem Standard oder Netzwerk wächst, wenn dessen Nutzerzahl größer wird. Durch diesen erhöhten Nutzen wird das Netzwerk für noch mehr Personen interessant, die Nutzerzahl wächst weiter an, und somit wiederum der Nutzen für alle. Dies nennt man positive Rückkopplung. Wird eine kritische Masse erreicht, so steigt die Nutzerzahl exponentiell an.
Der Netzwerkeffekt lässt sich in direkte und indirekte Netzwerkeffekte differenzieren. Bei direkten Netzeffekten entsteht die Nutzensteigerung unmittelbar durch physische Netzverbindungen zwischen zwei Teilnehmern. Indirekte Netzwerkeffekte bestehen, wenn der Nutzen der Teilnehmer mit der Netzgröße zunimmt, diese Nutzensteigerung jedoch nicht durch unmittelbare Kommunikationsbeziehungen zwischen den Akteuren entsteht. Beispiele hierfür sind komplementäre Produkte oder Lerneffekte.
Beispiele für den Netzwerkeffekt findet man bei Software – unter anderem beim Internet, bei Microsoft Office oder bei Wikipedia – sowie auch bei Aktien und im Bereich der Telekommunikation. Die SMS-Funktion eines Mobiltelefones beispielsweise ist nur sinnvoll, falls es noch viele andere gibt, die ebenfalls ein Handy besitzen und damit SMS benutzen.
1 Nutzer wurde vom Verfasser von der Diskussion ausgeschlossen: tradeconto