http://www.thestreet.com/_intuit/comment/tish/1383339.html
I've not enclosed the entire story. --Eirikur
Kana Has Merged in the Best of Times and the Worst of Times
By Tish Williams
Senior Writer
Originally posted at 9:46 PM ET 4/9/01 on RealMoney.com
Kana's story is a tale of two mergers.
Last February, Kana (KANA:Nasdaq - news) was a $270 stock, all frilly collars
and gilded carriages, inviting Silknet over for romantic harpsichord recitals
and tiny sandwiches. Their joyous and heady ambitions in the realm of
electronic customer relationship management culminated in a $4.2 billion
acquisition that saw Kana pay a 55% premium to SilkNet shareholders, or $200
a share. On paper Silknet backer CMGI (CMGI:Nasdaq - news) reaped more than
$550 million in the deal, as 18% owner of the New Hampshire-based company.
When Kana announced its latest acquisition Monday, the once-dandy start-up
was a dirty-faced, nearly impoverished peasant, begging for mercy at the feet
of relatively cash-rich Broadbase Software (BBSW:Nasdaq - news ). Both
companies have stock prices under $1. Both recently warned that their first
quarters would fall far short of Street expectations. But Broadbase at the
very least counts $130 million on hand at the end of the first quarter --
sustenance Kana needs to survive 2001.
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