Corporate
Financing Week
May 17, 1999 Vol. XXV, No.
20 page 2ANOTHER
CMGI?
A pair of entrepreneurs next month will launch a
Web-based service for matching up venture capitalists and start-up Internet businesses,
and may plan to take their company public next year. The venture would mirror somewhat the
Internet holding company model pioneered by aggressive Internet investor David
Wetherell's CMGI Holdings.
New York-based 1stVenture.com,
founded by technology financier and former consultant Simon Erblich and
advertising industry veteran Edward Greissle, already has a test site up
on which venture investors can review the business plans of four Internet companies
already launched by the duo. The company also plans to stage ideas pitched to it from
outside entrepreneurs, Erblich and Greissle said. Once the password-protected site is
officially launched June 1, qualified venture investors will be able to view opportunities
on the Web, after consenting to a non-disclosure agreement and providing a contact number.
The site is seen as a one stop shop providing a first step toward sealing private equity
deals.
In addition to retaining minority equity stakes
in the businesses it generates itself, 1stVenture.com will buy stakes in any outside
ventures staged through the site. Furthermore, 1stVenture.com is looking at alliances with
several broker/dealers that would allow individual investors to buy into its portfolio of
Internet start-ups, people close to the matter told CFW. Looking ahead further,
the company eventually will offer shares to the public, creating an entity that could
resemble CMGI, which holds pieces of Internet darlings such as Lycos and Critical
Path. Erblich and Greissle declined to elaborate on these plans.
By:
Justin Schack, Managing Editor
Corporate Financing Week
Institutional Investor, Inc.
http://www.iinews.com
212-224-3244
|
