CMGI Inc. considers the first part of next year as likely to constitute "optimal timing" for taking its AltaVista Co. Net search engine subsidiary public, according to CMGI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Wetherell.
The CMGI chief's comments, made Thursday to a group of analysts in Andover, Massachusetts, as CMGI released its fourth-quarter and year-end financial results, were confirmed by an AltaVista spokesman.
Less than a week ago, AltaVista announced it would back away from plans to become a media portal and concentrate its energies on its core Internet search business. The change in strategy led to the company laying off 25 percent of its staff, mostly from its new media team. [See "CEO, Analysts Herald AltaVista's Refocus on Search," Sept. 15 and "AltaVista Refocuses, Cuts 25 Percent of Staff," Sept. 15.]At the time, AltaVista CEO and President Rod Schrock committed AltaVista North America to making a profit in the company's financial quarter due to close Jan. 31, 2000.
The search engine company has promised several times in its history to go public, only to pull back on such plans. Its latest withdrawal from an initial public offering (IPO) came in April, when AltaVista cited uncertain market conditions as its reason for postponing the IPO. [See "AltaVista's IPO Is Postponed -- Again," April 17.]Back when AltaVista was part of Digital Equipment Corp., Digital had planned a public spin-off of the unit only to announce in October 1997 that it would bring the search engine business back into the fold. After Compaq Computer Corp. acquired Digital and hence AltaVista, the possibility of an AltaVista IPO was again raised. On that occasion, Compaq ended up selling off most of AltaVista to CMGI in April of last year.
AltaVista, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, can be contacted at +1-650-320-7700 and on the Web at http://www.altavista.com/.