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Enron Mail |
Citigroup And Oracle Strike Marketplace Deal -- COMPANIES TEAM TO OFFER
INTEGRATED PAYMENT SERVICES ON BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS EXCHANGES 11/20/2000 Citigroup is extending its reach as a provider of financial services to business-to-business marketplaces. The $82 billion company has struck a deal with Oracle to integrate its payment and financial-settlement services into the vendor's online marketplace platform, Oracle Exchange. In addition, Citigroup will co-brand and market OracleExchange.com, Oracle's trading exchange for business supplies, to business clients and deploy Oracle's E-procurement applications internally to simplify its own purchasing. Citigroup already offers its services, called CitiConnect, to rival marketplace companies i2 Technologies Inc. and Commerce One Inc. CitiConnect supports complex financial transactions, such as employee procurement-card purchases, electronic funds transfers, and cross-border payments, for businesses participating in exchanges, whether or not they're Citibank customers. Other financial companies target-ing this market include Chase Manhattan Bank Corp. and First Union Corp., which have partnerships with online marketplace software provider Metiom Inc.; Wachovia Corp. has aligned with Clarus Corp.; and ABN Amro, Bank of America, and US Bank have payment-services deals with Ariba Inc. "We see the role of banks in this space increasing as more commerce occurs online," says Ann Cairns, global E-solutions head at Citigroup's E-business unit. "The key thing that we bring in working with technology companies is an understanding and intellectual capital around security and privacy issues." But Cairns says few transactions occur on exchanges today. Most are building their marketplaces, she says. It may be a while before integrated payment services gain traction. A recent survey by AMR Research revealed that companies participating in exchanges are still most interested in product and vendor search capabilities, order status and tracking, and integration with partners. RetailExchange .com Inc., a business-to-business exchange for excess consumer goods, is working on integrated credit services with commercial finance firm CIT Group Inc. It plans to add shipping and payment services eventually, but says large companies already have departments with expertise in those areas. Says Ken Frieze, president and CEO of RetailExchange.com, "add-on transaction services have to be better and have a greater value proposition than what's available offline." ___________________________________________________________ o CheMatch.com Lays Off 8 Employees But Expects More Funding HOUSTON -- CheMatch.com, a marketplace for buying and selling bulk commodity chemicals, plastics, and fuel products, said it laid off 8 employees, reducing its workforce to 85. The company, which withdrew its IPO in October, also said it expects new funding before the end of the year from investors that include its original backers. CheMatch is backed by Battery Ventures, Bayer, Computer Sciences Corp., E.E. DuPont de Nemours & Co., Methanex, Millennium Chemicals, H. Muehlstein & Co., Reed Elsevier, Sprout Group, Stolt-Nielsen, and TownsendTarnell. http://www.chematch.com/ ________________________________________________ o Lockheed Spin-off TeraConnect Raises $40 Million Round One NASHUA, N.H. -- Optical component company TeraConnect said it completed its spin off from Lockheed Martin company Sanders with a $40 million first round funded by Goldman Sachs, Kodiak Venture Partners, and Spectrum Equity Investors. The company said it will use the funding for further product development. Kodiak Venture Partners managing general partner Dave Furneaux is chairman of TeraConnect's board of directors. TeraConnect develops optical components for router, server, and telecommunications infrastructure markets. Telephone 603-885-2988. _____________________________________________ o Data Communication Firm Bravida Lands $33 Million Series B PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Bravida, a developer of data communications infrastructure products, said it received $33 million in its Series B round of funding, led by Patricof & Co. Ventures. Advanced Technology Ventures, Anila Fund, i-Hatch Ventures, Onset, and St. Paul Ventures also participated. Michael Duran of Patricof & Co. and Moses S. Joseph from Anila Fund will join the company's board of directors. The company will use the funds for product development and to expand its staff. http://www.bravidacorp.com/ _____________________________________________ o HyperTrust, Hosted Security Firm, Has $1 Million Funding LEUVEN, Belgium -- HyperTrust, which is developing a hosted platform for secure communications and transactions based on digital signatures, said it raised EUR 1.24 million ($1 million) in its first funding. Investors in the round included Belgian business accelerator AdValvas Group and IT-Partners. The company said it will use the funding to continue its product development. HyperTrust rents secured infrastructure space to customers with a guarantee of security measures. Sir Martin Lagauw of AdValvas Group and Stefaan Nicolay of IT-Partners will both take seats on the company's board of directors. http://www.hypertrust.com/ _____________________________________________ o E-Payment Firm Trintech Buys Globeset for $31 Million SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Trintech, a publicly-traded provider of electronic payment infrastructure technology, said it has acquired another e-payment firm, Globeset, and all of its intellectual property rights to its software products. Globeset was acquired for $10 million in stock, $21 million in cash, and the assumption of liabilities. Globeset is backed by Compaq, CitiGroup, Deustche Bank, Chase Manhattan, American Express, and individual investors. http://www.trintech.com/ http://www.globeset.com/ _____________________________________________
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