Dot-coms become dot-bombs

Forty-nine dot-coms joined a growing list of dot-bombs in January and another 112 Internet companies were acquired at a cost of more than US$5 billion, according to a study released last month.

A drop in funding, such as from venture capital firms, caused the shutdowns of the likes of The Walt Disney Co.’s entertainment site Go.com, e-retailer Send.com Inc. and health site SelfCare.com Inc., according to a report from Webmergers.com Inc. Over US$1.5 billion had been invested in the companies that went under in January. Many of these companies are actively seeking to sell their assets, the report states.

The Internet sector saw more than two acquisitions for each funeral in January, according to Webmergers.com. Almost US$4 billion in merger-and-acquisition spending in January went to Internet infrastructure companies. That total includes Ariba Inc.’s acquisition of Agile Software Corp. for US$2.5 billion, according to the report.

Over US$600 million was spent to buy 60 Web-based companies in January, up from 57 acquisitions and US$3.7 billion during January 2000. The January 2001 figures show a decline in valuations and a falloff in the large deals that took place early last year before the Internet sector crisis, Webmergers said.

Webmergers.com, in San Francisco, can be reached at http://www.webmergers.com/.

– IDG News Service

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

Featured Download

Featured Articles

Cybersecurity in 2024: Priorities and challenges for Canadian organizations 

By Derek Manky As predictions for 2024 point to the continued expansion...

Survey shows generative AI is a top priority for Canadian corporate leaders.

Leaders are devoting significant budget to generative AI for 2024 Canadian corporate...

Related Tech News

Tech Jobs

Our experienced team of journalists and bloggers bring you engaging in-depth interviews, videos and content targeted to IT professionals and line-of-business executives.

Tech Companies Hiring Right Now