Verticalnet, Inc.
Founded1995; 29 years ago (1995)
FounderMichael McNulty
Michael Hagan
FateAcquired by Bravo Solutions (2008)
HeadquartersHorsham, Pennsylvania
RevenueDecrease $16 million (2006)
Decrease -$24 million (2006)
Total assetsDecrease $20 million (2006)
Total equityDecrease $2 million (2006)
Number of employees
88 (2006)
Footnotes / references
[1]

Verticalnet, Inc. was a host of 43 business-to-business (B2B) procurement portals headquartered in Horsham, Pennsylvania.[2] It was famous for its market capitalization of $10.89 billion on March 10, 2000, during the dot-com bubble,[3] despite sales of only $112.5 million in 2000.[4] Verticalnet was acquired by Bravo Solutions in 2008 for $15.2 million.[5][6]

History

Verticalnet was founded in 1995 by Michael McNulty and Michael Hagan with a site called WaterOnline.[2]

In 1997, Mark Walsh joined the company as its chief executive officer.

In 1999, on the first day of trading after its initial public offering, its shares increased in value by 180%, valuing the company at $1.6 billion, despite only having $3.6 million in quarterly revenue. The company had 1,300 advertisers, each of which were paying $6,000 per year. At that time, Internet Capital Group, now Actua Corporation, owned 28% of the company and founders Michael McNulty and Michael Hagan were each worth $60 million on paper.[2]

In 1999, the company lost $53.5 million on revenues of $18.4 million.[7] In 2000, revenues increased to $112.5 million and the company posted a cash loss of $28.5 million.[4]

In January 2000, the company received a $100 million investment from Microsoft.[8]

During 2000, the dot-com bubble burst, and the market capitalization of the company fell from a peak of $10.89 billion on March 10, 2000 to $3.89 billion on May 4, 2000.[3]

In 2002, Verticalnet acquired Atlas Commerce for 14.3 million shares of Verticalnet common stock and $3.5 million of cash and the company relocated to Malvern, Pennsylvania.[9]

In 2002, VerticalNet sold its Small and Medium Business Group to Corry Publishing, now Jameson Publishing, for a cash up-front payment of $2.35 million and a four-year performance-based earn-out of $6.5 million, as well as the assumption of certain liabilities.[10]

In 2008, Bravo Solutions acquired Verticalnet for $15.2 million.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "Verticalnet, Inc. 2006 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  2. ^ a b c "Land grab". Forbes. June 23, 1999.
  3. ^ a b Callahan, Sean (May 8, 2000). "VerticalNet: A Web pioneer in transition". Advertising Age.
  4. ^ a b "VerticalNet To Acquire E-Marketplace, Narrows Losses". InformationWeek. February 23, 2001.
  5. ^ a b "BravoSolution to Acquire Verticalnet" (Press release). Business Wire. October 26, 2007.
  6. ^ a b "BravoSolution Completes Acquisition of Verticalnet" (Press release). Business Wire. January 25, 2008.
  7. ^ "VerticalNet reports loss despite revenue gains". EE Times. February 22, 2001.
  8. ^ "Microsoft backs VerticalNet". CNN. January 21, 2000.
  9. ^ Shah, Jennifer Baljko (January 2, 2002). "Verticalnet wraps acquisition of Atlas Commerce". EE Times.
  10. ^ Callahan, Sean (July 12, 2002). "Verticalnet sells e-marketplaces to Corry Publishing". Advertising Age.
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