[London, ENGLAND] Vertical trade community operator
VerticalNet
announced Monday it has now completed the formation of
VerticalNet Europe, B.V., a joint venture with global
telco BT and
Internet Capital Group.
VerticalNet’s trade communities cover such industry
sectors as Communications, Energy, Financial Services, Food
and Packaging, etc., each community providing users with
comprehensive sources of information, interaction and
e-commerce.
Following its success in the United States, VerticalNet
established an international division, setting up joint
ventures not only in Europe but also in Japan with SOFTBANK.
“With VerticalNet Europe we are entering the Internet’s
next hypergrowth market from a position of strength,
with substantial existing international traffic and
premier partners. Partnering with BT and Internet
Capital will allow us to exploit this opportunity
very rapidly,” said Mark Walsh, president and chief
executive of VerticalNet.
Alfred T. Mockett, chief executive of BT Ignite, said
that finalizing the joint venture enables thousands of
European businesses to have access to new markets and
customers via the Internet.
“Establishing a regional presence in Europe with strong
distribution channels will deliver the immediacy of the
Internet to local businesses and will offer the most
effective global end-to-end marketplace solution to our
trading community members,” claimed David Kostman, who
was recently appointed president of VerticalNet
International.
Among the services offered by VerticalNet are auctions,
catalogs, bookstores, career centers and a whole array
of e-commerce capabilities. Founded in 1995, it now
has 57 communities, each identified by its own domain
name, from digitalbroadcasting.com
in the Communications sector to
purchasingnetwork.com in the
Services sector.
VerticalNet will announce its second quarter results July 26,
after the market closes.
