Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Daily Email Edition

Get MN Daily NEWS delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Business Bites

America Online, the largest online service provider, announced plans Tuesday to acquire Internet software company Netscape Communications Corp. for $4.2 billion in AOL stock.
The acquisition, said AOL President Bob Pittman, is part of the company’s aim to claim a greater piece of the roaring electronic business industry, better known as e-commerce. Netscape was a good buy since it has beeen active with e-commerce since Microsoft’s competition rendered the web browser business unprofitable a few years ago.
Virginia-based AOL will not, surprisingly, drop Microsoft’s Internet Explorer from its online service and replace it with Netscape Navigator.
In a related deal, AOL agreed to purchase $500 million of hardware from Sun Microsystems Inc., a producer of high-end network computers and computer workstations. The partnership will last through 2002 requires Sun to pay $350 million to AOL for online marketing and advertising.
On news of the deals, AOL shares rose 2 1/8 and Sun gained 1 5/8. Despite the partnership, Netscape shares lost 4.92 percent or 2 1/16 points on news of lackluster third-quarter earnings, also announced Tuesday.

Leave a Comment

Accessibility Toolbar

Comments (0)

All The Minnesota Daily Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *