Maura Ginty

AltaVista Co. Thursday extended its global reach by launching its new France and Netherlands properties. Both sites will generate local content and the signature search function with country-specific indices which AltaVista claims will cover 95 percent of local sites in both the French and Dutch languages. The CMGI-owned (CMGI) portal has introduced similar European versions […]

E-Loan Europe Wednesday snapped up a German bank and a French online lender in a move to strengthen the foundation of its soon-to-launch regional operations. Traditional banker Media Kreditbank and Aaccredit will lend the two company’s respective customer bases and financial services to E-Loan Europe, in preparation for E-Loan Europe’s official launch this spring. The […]

CMGI Inc., Hicks Muse Tate & Furst Inc. and Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd. Wednesday joined to create a venture capital fund vested with $1.5 billion, which will target Internet startups based in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Each of the partners poured $500 million in to @Ventures Global Partners. Startup selections will be limited to […]

DLJdirect and Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. Tuesday formed a joint venture to bring DLJdirect’s services to seven Asian countries. The 50-50 joint venture will bring the brokerage to China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia. U.S.-based DLJdirect (DIR) previously launched a site in Japan with Japanese bank Sumitomo. Financial […]

Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd has taken a majority stake in Cable & Wireless HKT Ltd (HKT) in a deal valued as much as $38.1 billion. PCCW reached a deal giving it a 54 percent share of HKT from Britain’s Cable & Wireless plc (C&W). In exchange, Cable & Wireless Far East (C&W FE), which also […]

Softbank and SmartAge.com Monday joined for a venture to bring SmartAge’s small business-oriented site to the Japanese marketplace. The SmartAge Japan Corp. will launch its sites in April and will offer online tools to help small business incorporate the Internet as a means of expanding revenue. SmartAge’s free ad banner exchange service will also be […]

chinadotcom corp. Monday said it will list its hongkong.com corp. property on the Hong Kong Growth Enterprise Market board, marking the first local listing by the Asia-targeted Net play. chinadotcom (CHINA) will offer 640 million shares representing 16 percent of hongkong.com, and will retain 84 percent ownership. In a statement, chinadotcom said that the proposed […]

Swedish firms Connecta and Information Highway Thursday merged in a deal that stands to accelerate the combined company’s efforts to mount an aggressive global expansion. Information Highway will offer 3.37 new shares for each existing Connecta share. A total of 57 million shares will be issued if all shareholders accept the agreement. Information Highway shareholders […]

In a further tie-up between TV and the Internet, EchoStar Communications Corp. and Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. this week agreed to bundle Gilat’s new high-speed satellite Net access with the DISH TV service. The companies are promising always-on access at speeds up to ten times faster than IDSN speeds. The product is expected to hit […]

Nokia and Amazon.com Wednesday rolled out the first of its WAP-based mobile e-commerce services in the U.K. The Amazon UK mobile site will allow users to search for items, read reviews, and shop online from a WAP-enabled mobile device. The service will also be promoted at the Club Nokia site. The two companies will carry […]

Fed chairman Alan Greenspan put in an appearance and the Microsoft antitrust trial once again splattered the headlines, but the Internet sector still tread back into positive ground on Wednesday. At 12:30 p.m. EST, internet.com’s Internet Stock Index rose 33.51, or 3.72%, bouncing back to 935.42, while the Nasdaq Composite recharged to 66.95 to 4449.07 […]

Prudential plc Wednesday introduced IPO plans for its online banking service, egg, which has swept the British Isles by storm. Prudential will float a minority stake in its first-to-market banking wonder, with the offering of an estimated 15 to 25 percent according to reports. The IPO is expected to take place later this year, and […]