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U.K. Net offerings in queue
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September 3, 1999: 9:39 a.m. ET
Sports site 365 Corp., auctioneer QXL.com plan London listings
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LONDON (CNNfn) - London's fledgling listed Internet sector received a boost Friday as stock offering plans circulated for 365 Corp., a sports content provider, and online auction house QXL.com.
The sports site, which aims to double revenue to 50 million pounds next year, is looking to issue shares in London by the end of November, according to a report in the Financial Times. Its valuation of 300 to 500 million pounds ($800 million) would rank it third in the listed U.K. internet sector.
QXL.com, which competes with established auction sites such as eBay (EBAY), said it would launch a retail and institutional offering in London and on the Nasdaq. The new shares would represent 25 percent of the share capital for a company with 1998 revenue of 1.2 million pounds.
The U.K. Net sector was kicked off in July with the $2.4 billion offering of Freeserve (FREEV), the ISP and portal launched last year by electrical retailer Dixons (DXNS).
Freeserve shares soared 35 percent on launch, but uncertainty over the profitabilty of the sector has pared it back to around 170 pence compared to a launch price of 150 pence, giving it a market capitalization of around 2.9 billion.
Exchange.com, which provides personal finance information, was floated in July and is valued at around $650 million.
The sports content market is becoming crowded, with media giant News Corp. announcing plans for its own soccer-based operation. Buena Vista, a unit of Walt Disney (DIS), last month paid 37.3 million pounds for a majority stake in another soccer-based site, soccernet.com.
No value or offering size timetables were provided by 365 or QXL. The lack of precedent has provided analysts with a headache in valuing the loss-making firms, though a report published Friday could dampen heightened expectations for 365.com.
However, a report by consultant Fletcher Research noted that while soccer provides a customer base of 18 million regular fans, users are more likely to turn to their own clubs than general providers. "Sports' fans loyalty to their teams provides official club Web sites with an undeniable advantage," said the report.
Fletcher said that 2.4 million U.K. Net users regularly use sports Net sites, with half of them turning first to official and unofficial club sites, while 365.com was eighth among U.K. general sports sites when ranked by page views. 
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