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Internet Security & Identity Authentication Issue
Four analysts and top management from nine sector firms examine the Security/Internet Security & Identity Authentication sector in this 51 - page Issue from The Wall Street Transcript.
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Analyst highlights Lycos Europe in Wall Street Transcript Interview Full article published: 10/11/2000     PETER MISEK is European Convergence Media Equity Research Analyst at Chase H&Q


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TWST: So those are the three things that will drive interactive TV forward. I do not understand how the mobile platform functions in this Internet growth narrative. How do mobiles and Internet go together? Why is it a convincing confluence?

Mr. Misek: We think there’s three big points for mobiles. The first thing is that this is only the first generation of mobiles; the mobile experience right now is primarily a textual base experience, and it’s designed mainly just to keep interaction and keep connection to a consumer. So if I’m a media house and I have a lot of text-based content, or if I’m a company and I’m trying to keep contact with my customer, that’s the best way to do so. In the next generation what we’re going to see is higher bandwidth, better language, better screens, better devices altogether that are much more useable and much more friendly, that are going to provide a better experience; and we can see that experience improving to the point where you start listening to MP3s and other audio formats on the mobile, (so radio and recorded music), as well as having maybe video clips for previews for movies, etc. We don’t think that the mobile entertainment platform will replace a television or full screen-based platform, but it’ll definitely complement it and it will definitely drive a continuous customer experience.

TWST: There’s a third risk that you were going to mention?

Mr. Misek: The final risk would be the competition risk, which is similar to BSkyB, which is other platforms that are going to be competing.

TWST: Any other stocks that you’d like to spotlight briefly for me?

Mr. Misek: On the Internet space we think Lycos Europe, which is a dominant Internet media type company in Europe. We think it’s one of the biggest values in the European Internet space, where we don’t see a lot of value — we think that most of the other players are overpriced. And here you have a company that’s in the top five Europe-wide; they’ve just acquired a company called Spray that gives them a big presence in Scandinavia; and you combine that with the new parent, Terra Lycos, and the other parent, Bertelsmann, and now the Wallenberg family, and you’ve got some serious shareholders that give it content, managerial expertise and distribution. And you combine that again with the fact that these shareholders have got these other platforms that we’re looking for, so wireless, pay TV and satellite, and they have access to all these parts, combined with great growth, pan-European reach, and strong management team, and it’s our favourite pick in the sector.

TWST: What price target do you set for it?

Mr. Misek: We have a EUR20 price target for Lycos Europe.

TWST: Any risks for Lycos Europe?

Mr. Misek: We think the main risk for Lycos is that it doesn’t execute in terms of the ability to grow people and to monetise the people that come to its site, and monetise the new platforms that it’s going to launch. It has as WAP portal — it needs to start monetising that; it needs to grow out a broadband service, and it needs to monetise that; so the biggest risk there is execution risk.

Tickers included in this excerpt: 932728.F

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This interview is a small excerpt from a comprehensive interview published in The Wall Street Transcript on 10/09/00. For more information call (212) 952 7400. The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse any of the comments made by interviewees, and does not make stock recommendations.

Copyright 2000, Wall Street Transcript Corp.

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