CMGI dropped to Nasdaq SmallCap

[Czar]

The incubator/tech investor that was once valued in the 10s of billions of dollars while trading above $200 a share, and which held controlling stakes in all manner of net marketing firms, has been dropped from the Nasdaq National Market after wallowing in the sub-$1 range for months.

This is significant in that, like Idealab, this company was a significant channel through which the irrational valuations ascribed to many net firms were realised. They talked big about convergence, about eyeballs, about the 'new economy' and the synergies and efficiencies to come from acquiring major reach and vertical integration online; all the while burning cash, scrapping promising products, failing to develop a unified vision and ignoring the need to strive towards reaching operating profitability within a reasonable timeframe.

CMGI bought and controlled such names as Flycast, Engage, YesMail, AltaVista, uBid, AdForce, Adsmart, AudienceNet, I/PRO and AdKnowledge in their attempt to become a major force in online marketing. Interestingly, almost all of their individual acquisitions (if not all - though most were stock-based) were made at prices that now exceed CMGI's total valuation; emphasising the depths to which this company has fallen since the bursting of the bubble.

More info:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/021021/212762_1.html


<edit> I just noticed that 24/7 Real Media also recently dropped to the SmallCap Market. Only a few media and marketing pure-plays remain in Nasdaq proper. </edit>