Verticalnet, Inc. was a host of 43 business-to-business (B2B) procurement portals headquartered in Horsham, Pennsylvania.[2] It was famous for its market capitalization of $10.89 billion on March 10, 2000, during the dot-com bubble,[3] despite sales of only $112.5 million in 2000.[4] Verticalnet was acquired by Bravo Solutions in 2008 for $15.2 million.[5][6]
 | |
| Founded | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Michael McNulty Michael Hagan |
| Fate | Acquired by Bravo Solutions (2008) |
| Headquarters | Horsham, Pennsylvania |
| Revenue |  $16 million (2006) |
| -$24 million (2006) | |
| Total assets | $20 million (2006) |
| Total equity | $2 million (2006) |
Number of employees | 88 (2006) |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
History
editVerticalnet was founded in 1995 by Michael McNulty and Michael Hagan with a site called WaterOnline.[2]
In 1997, Mark Walsh joined the company as its chief executive officer.
In 1999, on the first day of trading after its initial public offering, its shares increased in value by 180%, valuing the company at $1.6 billion, despite only having $3.6 million in quarterly revenue. The company had 1,300 advertisers, each of which were paying $6,000 per year. At that time, Internet Capital Group, now Actua Corporation, owned 28% of the company and founders Michael McNulty and Michael Hagan were each worth $60 million on paper.[2]
In 1999, the company lost $53.5 million on revenues of $18.4 million.[7] In 2000, revenues increased to $112.5 million and the company posted a cash loss of $28.5 million.[4]
In January 2000, the company received a $100 million investment from Microsoft.[8]
During 2000, the dot-com bubble burst, and the market capitalization of the company fell from a peak of $10.89 billion on March 10, 2000 to $3.89 billion on May 4, 2000.[3]
In 2002, Verticalnet acquired Atlas Commerce for 14.3 million shares of Verticalnet common stock and $3.5 million of cash and the company relocated to Malvern, Pennsylvania.[9]
In 2002, VerticalNet sold its Small and Medium Business Group to Corry Publishing, now Jameson Publishing, for a cash up-front payment of $2.35 million and a four-year performance-based earn-out of $6.5 million, as well as the assumption of certain liabilities.[10]
In 2008, Bravo Solutions acquired Verticalnet for $15.2 million.[5][6]
References
edit- ^ "Verticalnet, Inc. 2006 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- ^ a b c "Land grab". Forbes. June 23, 1999.
- ^ a b Callahan, Sean (May 8, 2000). "VerticalNet: A Web pioneer in transition". Advertising Age.
- ^ a b "VerticalNet To Acquire E-Marketplace, Narrows Losses". InformationWeek. February 23, 2001.
- ^ a b "BravoSolution to Acquire Verticalnet" (Press release). Business Wire. October 26, 2007.
- ^ a b "BravoSolution Completes Acquisition of Verticalnet" (Press release). Business Wire. January 25, 2008.
- ^ "VerticalNet reports loss despite revenue gains". EE Times. February 22, 2001.
- ^ "Microsoft backs VerticalNet". CNN. January 21, 2000.
- ^ Shah, Jennifer Baljko (January 2, 2002). "Verticalnet wraps acquisition of Atlas Commerce". EE Times.
- ^ Callahan, Sean (July 12, 2002). "Verticalnet sells e-marketplaces to Corry Publishing". Advertising Age.