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Yahoo! upbeat on deals
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April 8, 1999: 1:24 p.m. ET
CEO Koogle says integration of GeoCities, BCST will go smoothly
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Yahoo! CEO and Chairman Tim Koogle, fresh of a strong first quarter for the top Internet portal, predicted a smooth integration of two blockbuster buyouts this year.
In an interview with CNNfn Thursday, Koogle said deals to buy the community site operator GeoCities and the audio and video aggregator Broadcast.com are manageable.
"Integrating companies you acquire always takes some good, hard work, but it's very do-able," said Koogle. "I think the task is very, very manageable."
In January, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company, enjoying a surge in "paper wealth" because its shares have soared, announced it would use stock to buy GeoCities (GCTY), in a deal then valued at $3.6 billion.
And last week, Yahoo! said it will buy Internet-based audio and video "aggregator" Broadcast.com (BCST) -- which is a sort of clearinghouse for media streaming across the web -- for $5.7 billion.
Koogle shrugged off a report by Jupiter Communications, a research firm specializing in new media, showing the growth in electronic commerce is not likely to occur as fast for the portals like Yahoo!
He said Internet vendors that peddle their wares through Yahoo! haven't lost confidence in the portal as a conduit for strong sales.
"I can tell you that from our experience, that all of our merchants have been renewing," Koogle said, insisting the premier Internet portals are likely to fare well. "It's like traditional media -- the dollars will go, the lion's share, to the ones that perform."
The optimism expressed by Koogle comes a day after Yahoo! posted operating earnings of $25.1 million, or 11 cents a share, on sales of $86.1 million. Analysts surveyed by First Call Corp., which tracks earnings estimates, expected pro forma profit of 8 cents per share.
In Nasdaq shortly after noon ET Thursday, shares of Yahoo! (YHOO) were up 1-9/16 to 210. 
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