Lycos Europe preparing $40 million Internet investment

Neuer Markt listed Lycos Europe, owned jointly by Bertelsmann and Lycos, the owner of 12 Internet portals, is making serious preparations to launch a Polish version of its service. The entire project could be up and running before the end of first quarter of 2001, with its first product, Lycos.pl, launched at the same time. Lycos intends to spend roughly $40 million investing in several Polish Internet services, including 24h.pl, now being prepared by Link, which has registered the Lycos.pl domain. The two projects will be managed by an as yet unnamed joint venture of Lycos Europe and Link; personnel is already being recruited. This is Lycos' second attempt to enter the Polish market; earlier it showed interest in purchasing Interia and Arena Internet portals, but the transaction was never finalized. Analysts say Lycos could capture as much as 40% of the market. The company itself has so far been unwilling to comment on its plans other than to stress its interest in the market. (Puls Biznesu, p.5)