DISNEY DEAL JELLS; BURBANK GIANT TO BUY INFOSEEK, SPIN OFF WEB ASSETS.Byline: Dave McNary Staff Writer Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co. became serious about the Internet on Monday, pulling the trigger on two major deals it has been pondering for the past five weeks. The entertainment giant announced a major expansion of its Internet business by agreeing to buy the 57 percent of Web partner Infoseek Corp. that it does not already own for an undisclosed price estimated at about $2 billion. Burbank-based Disney will then spin off its Internet assets, valued at $7 billion without Infoseek, and its catalog operations into a publicly traded tracking stock called Go.com. That could enable Disney, which did not disclose how much the public will own, to receive a boost from the booming market for Web stocks. ``We think it's a great move from a strategic standpoint to buy Infoseek and separate the assets,'' said Linda Bannister, an analyst with Edward Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones is the name of: Edward Jones:
By making the announcement, Disney also underscored its strong commitment to the concept of Go.com as a general-purpose portal to the Internet. That indicates Disney will engage in what has turned out to be an uphill battle Uphill Battle was an metalcore band with elements of grindcore and noisecore. The group was based out of Santa Barbara, California, USA. History Uphill Battle got some recognition releasing their self-titled record on Relapse Records. with America Online See AOL. , Yahoo and Microsoft in that market. Disney launched its Internet operations in 1995 and stepped up as a major player a year ago by buying 43 percent of Infoseek, the Web's fourth largest search directory. In a news conference Monday in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Disney and Infoseek chief executives fleshed out details of the transactions. Disney will own 72 percent of Go.com, which will combine the 550 employees at Buena Vista Internet Group, 850 Infoseek employees and 800 Disney catalog employees. The deals should be completed by the end of this year. Infoseek shareholders must approve the buyout. The combined businesses should generate $350 million during the current fiscal year, through Sept. 30, and could double that in the next fiscal year. Go.com will trade on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. under the symbol GO, replacing shares of Infoseek. Infoseek's chief executive officer, Harry Motro, will depart once the deal is concluded. Jake Winebaum left as Disney's Internet chief last month, and there was no indication of who will head Go.com. The announcement came when Wall Street has been punishing Disney's share price over disappointing earnings and a sagging outlook in several key businesses. The announcement had little impact as shares edged up 18.75 cents to $27.8125 after touching their 1999 low on Friday, while Infoseek shares were off $5.5625 at $45.9375. Analysts have predicted, however, that the Internet assets will increase in value, particularly given the worth of such popular sites as Disney.com, ESPN.com, ABCNews.com, Family.com and Disney Stores Online. ``Combining Disney's Internet assets with Infoseek takes our online strategy to the next level,'' said Disney Chairman Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) was CEO of The Walt Disney Company from September 22, 1984 to September 30, 2005. Early life Michael Eisner was born to a wealthy family in Mt. Kisco, New York, and raised on Park Avenue in Manhattan. . ``Go.com will unlock the value and potential of our combined Internet assets and position them to ignite the marketplace with new products and services.'' But Disney trackers have complained that while the Disney-Infoseek partnership may make sense, the alliance has operated clumsily compared to Internet rivals and not delivered a compelling product since Disney and Infoseek launched the Go.com portal - a hub for entering the Internet - in January. Some question the basic strategy of trying to compete as a portal. ``Disney is going to wind up spending a ton of money to fight a battle that's already been lost to AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. , Yahoo and MSN (1) (MicroSoft Network) A family of Internet-based services from Microsoft, which includes a search engine, e-mail (Hotmail), instant messaging (Windows Live Messaging) and a general-purpose portal with news, information and shopping (MSN Directory). ,'' said Joseph Butt Jr., an analyst with Forrester Research Forrester Research is an independent technology and market research company that provides its clients with advice about technology's impact on business and consumers. Corporate facts
David Card David Edward Card is a Canadian labor economist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Card earned his B.A. from Queen's University in 1978 and his Ph.D. in Economics in 1983 from Princeton University. , an analyst with Jupiter Communications, said Disney should not be dismissed. ``The whole Go.com strategy has been only modestly successful, but what they've announced is a very logical next step,'' he noted. ``You can't write them off in terms of power of media properties and cross-promotion. They're still a contender with strong cards to play.'' GO DISNEY Disney is taking over Infoseek in an effort to consolidate its online operations. The portal site Noun 1. portal site - a site that the owner positions as an entrance to other sites on the internet; "a portal typically has search engines and free email and chat rooms etc. Go.com, which was launched last year, will face intense competition from high-profile portals like Yahoo! and AOL.com. Here's a look at the sites Disney has assembled under Go.com. Infoseek One of the Internet's first search engines, Infoseek will be the resource that Go.com's surfers go to first. Disney.com This site with all the bells and whistles A slang English term for exceptional features in some product. In the computer field, it typically refers to functions in software that may be greatly appreciated by some users, even though they may not be necessary most of the time. serves parents and children alike. ESPN.com One of the leading sources for sports information. Provides an interactive forum for sports news, commentary, stats as well as history. Family.com This site is geared towards parents looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. anything from travel advice to recipes to tips on how to talk to their kids about sex. Wall of Sound Disney's answer to the number of online music sites. Contains feature articles on bands, news, review and interactive Web pages. ABCNews.com National and local news from ABC News sources. Mr. Showbiz Takes a look at the world of entertainment. Has the latest buzz, bios, news and more on TV, movies and celebrities. SOURCE: Go Network CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--2--Color) Disney Chairman Michael D. Eisner, left, announces plans to buy out Infoseek, whose top executive, Harry Motro, also speaks Monday. Suzanne Plunkett/Associated Press BOX: GO DISNEY (see text) Associated Press |
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