John Lewell

[London, ENGLAND] Online automotive dealer Autobytel.com announced over the weekend the launch in The Netherlands of www.autobytel.nl, its third site in Europe and seventh worldwide. The leading investors in Autobytel Netherlands are Dutch vehicle importer Pon Holdings, publisher De Telegraaf, and insurance company Achmea. Postbank will offer consumer financing to Dutch car buyers, while other […]

[London, ENGLAND] European media giant Bertelsmann AG announced Monday it has gained control of the TV, film and Internet production companies that comprise the RTL Group by acquiring another 30 percent of RTL’s shares. The cost? Almost literally an arm and a leg — as Bertelsmann has parted with 25.1 percent of itself to make […]

[London, ENGLAND] European media company RTL Group announced Friday its purchase of Bertelsmann Broadband Group for EUR 12.8 million (US $11.9 million). Bertelsmann and RTL say they will continue to co-operate closely — suggesting that the purchase is a convenience rather than an old-style acquisition. The unit, purchased from Bertelsmann eCommerce Group (BeCG), will now […]

[London, ENGLAND] TradeWeb Europe, which enables online trade in the sovereign debt securities market, Friday announced that three top market makers have agreed to take part. ABN AMRO, JP Morgan and UBS Warburg will join existing dealers when TradeWeb Europe completes its beta test during the first quarter. TradeWeb Europe is the European subsidiary of […]

[London, ENGLAND] Internet hosting company Conxion Corporation announced Thursday the launch of hosting services in Europe. Conxion will operate from data centers in London, Amsterdam and Brussels, providing services similar to those it already provides its U.S. customers such as Microsoft, Oracle, Symantec, Seagate and Visa. Conxion also said Thursday it is teaming up with […]

[London, ENGLAND] Internet working solutions provider ThruPoint Inc. announced Thursday it has completed its acquisition of Internetwork Support Ltd (iSL) in the U.K., thereby creating the largest network consultant and integrator in Europe. A privately held company employing about 50 people, iSL has offices in England and Scotland, together with a long, blue-chip client list. […]

[London, ENGLAND] According to a recent survey by Reed Exhibition Companies Ltd., an astonishing 31 percent of U.K. businesses are not familiar with the term “streaming media,” even though 92 percent of them expect to use it within two years. The latest finding is one of the more curious anomalies to emerge from the small […]

[London, ENGLAND] Hotsip, a Swedish developer of SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) based products and services, announced Wednesday an SEK 30 million (US $3 million) investment from venture capitalist Argnor. The investment confirms a growing industry recognition that SIP is here to stay — and may be among the hottest growth areas of Internet technology in […]

[London, ENGLAND] Personal financial services company E*Trade Group Tuesday launched an online distribution channel for making initial public offerings (IPOs) available to its clients in Europe. Named E*Trade International Capital, the new channel has already been selected by banking giant HSBC to distribute shares in the forthcoming IPO for mobile operator Orange to E*Trade clients […]

[London, ENGLAND] It may have fallen slightly in December 2000, but, according to research company Forrester, the total online advertising spend in Europe will leap by 70 percent this year. However, before anyone gets too excited, Forrester warns that the first half of 2001 will be “relatively quiet,” with spending expected to accelerate only in […]

[London, ENGLAND] Mobile Internet software provider BlueKite.com Monday reported that its software will be incorporated into high-speed wireless Web access solutions developed by Dutch telecoms operator Telfort. The two companies say that the new system will enable access to the Web from mobile devices at speeds matching or beating 56kbps fixed-line connections. Speed of access […]

[London, ENGLAND] Strengthening in particular their European operations at a stroke, Hoover’s and GlobalNetFinancial.com Monday forged a strategic agreement for international content-sharing and distribution. Online business information provider Hoover’s will work with financial portal operator GlobalNetFinancial.com, creating what appears to be an excellent fit between the two companies. Having last week opened four new sites […]