Troubled push technology provider PointCast Inc. is said to be in
acquisition talks with several telcos, with BellSouth named at the
leading contender.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based originator of “push” broadcasting has faced
increasing competition against the big league portals, such as Yahoo! and
others providing continually updated news. Push delivered content, once the
industry’s best known buzzword, declined in popularity because it consumed
substantial bandwidth on corporate networks and was not suitable for home
users on relatively slow modem links.
In May, PointCast announced plans for an initial public offering. The
company planned to offer 3.75 million shares at $10 and $12 per share. On
July 15, PointCast pulled the IPO, and said it was instead seeking a
strategic partner.
“There are tremendous opportunities to strengthen and
leverage our business through options that have recently
emerged,” said David Dorman, PointCast chairman, president and chief
executive officer, at the time the IPO was pulled.
In 1997, News Corp. reportedly offered to buy the company for about $450
million, although industry insiders don’t think PointCast could currently
command that kind of cash.
In October, PointCast announced the reorganization of its senior
management, in an effort to leverage its marketing and sales initiatives.
Late last month, the company said it would stop serving Mac users at the
end of the year. PointCast said Mac users made up only 5 percent of its
membership, a number too small to justify continuing development.
