| Busty2 |
03-19-2017 07:17 AM |
Who remembers Lycos ?
Lycos could have been a force to be reckoned with had it not been for bad business decisions ?
Lycos was a university spin-off that began as a research project by Michael Loren Mauldin of Carnegie Mellon University's main Pittsburgh campus in 1994. Lycos Inc. was formed with approximately US $2 million ($3.2 million today) in venture capital funding from CMGI. Bob Davis became the CEO and first employee of the new company in 1995, and concentrated on building the company into an advertising-supported web portal. Lycos enjoyed several years of growth during the 1990s and became the most visited online destination in the world in 1999, with a global presence in more than 40 countries
In 1996, the company completed the fastest IPO from inception to offering in NASDAQ history. In 1997, it became one of the first profitable internet businesses in the world. In 1998, Lycos paid $58 million ($85.2 million today) for Tripod in an attempt to "break into the portal market."[7] Over the course of the next few years, Lycos acquired nearly two dozen internet brands including Gamesville, WhoWhere, Wired Digital (eventually sold to Wired), Quote.com, Angelfire, Matchmaker.com and Raging Bull.
Lycos Europe was a joint venture between Lycos and the Bertelsmann transnational media corporation, but it has always been a distinct corporate entity. Although Lycos Europe remains the largest of Lycos's overseas ventures, several other companies also entered into joint venture agreements including Lycos Canada, Lycos Korea and Lycos Asia.
Near the peak of the internet bubble on May 16, 2000, Lycos announced its intent to be acquired by Terra Networks, the internet arm of the Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica, for $12.5 billion ($18.0 billion today).[9] The acquisition price represented a return of nearly 3000 times the company's initial venture capital investment and about 20 times its initial public offering valuation.
Lycos, Inc.; currently according to Boston Better Business Bureau holds & has maintained an "F" rating due to large numbers of customer complaints and Lycos, Inc. failure to respond to customer complaints, as well as fraudulent use of the BBB's logo on Tripod's payment page. Lycos, Angelfire and Tripod are not accredited by the Better Business Bureau as they claimed and is substantiated by the Better Business Bureau on Lycos' company listing.:error
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