Textron Web site to sell equipment and inventory
Providence (Bloomberg) — Textron Inc., a maker of automotive, aircraft and industrial equipment, said it will create a Web site to sell surplus industrial equipment, excess inventory and commercial real estate. The Web site, known as AssetControl.com, will be a joint venture of Textron, Entrade Inc., Safeguard Scientifics Inc. and ATM Service Ltd., a unit of WorldWide Web NetworX Corp. Textron agreed in January to buy $100 million in stock in Safeguard, a venture capital company that invests in Internet businesses. The companies said at the time that they planned to sell more goods and services over the Internet. They estimated that could grow to a $7.3 trillion market by 2004.
“We’re using the Internet to improve our asset management while developing a viable business model that can be broadly applied to the industrial manufacturing and financial services markets,” Textron Chief Executive Lewis Campbell said in a statement.
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The AssetControl.com site is expected to begin operating in the second quarter. The size of the market it’s targeting is expected to be about $350 billion, Textron Financial Chief Executive Stephen Giliotti said. Textron will own 47.5 percent of the venture, Entrade will own 38 percent, ATM Service will own 9.5 percent and Safeguard will own 5 percent.
The Web site will initially include AssetTRADE, for surplus industrial equipment and machinery, ATMcenter.com for inventory disposition, TruckCenter.com for trucks, trailers and parts, NAIdirect.com for commercial real estate and Nationwide Auction Systems for construction and transportation equipment.
Mesa Gets $5.6 million in second round
WARWICK — Mesa Systems Guild, a software provider of product development portals for engineering firms, said it received $5.6 million in second-round funding. Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds, North Atlantic Capital, and SpaceVest II participated in the round. Mesa will use the funds for marketing and sales of its mesaVista software. http://www.mesavista.com Mesa System’s products include the ability to hold virtual meetings, manage tasks and schedules and re-use project data when developing products.
Hasbro Interactive adds Family Feud
BEVERLY, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Expanding its portfolio of popular TV game shows, Hasbro Interactive announced an agreement with Pearson Television that enables Hasbro Interactive to create interactive games based on several Pearson TV game show properties. The first title, due later this year for the PC and PlayStation® game console, is Family Feud®, capturing all of the fun of TV’s longest-running game show and featuring current Family Feud host Louie Anderson. Hasbro Interactive is a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.
“Television game shows are experiencing a tremendous resurgence and Pearson brings us some of the best TV game show properties in the business,” said Tom Dusenberry, president of Hasbro Interactive. “With the addition of Family Feud to our 2000 line, Hasbro Interactive has an unmatched offering of game show titles just as this genre takes off with the mass-market.”
bx.com moving from Needham to Providence
PROVIDENCE — bx.com, a rapidly expanding web development and hosting company, last week said it would relocate the majority of its Needham, Mass. based operation to new headquarters in Providence.
The company has offices in Needham, Providence, San Jose, Calif. and Washington, D.C. Edward Weisberg, president of bx.com said the company’s Needham offices did not offer room for expansion or access to “enough people with high tech skills.”
Weisberg said the company will add 80 new employees in Providence this year, 200 next year, and expects to have approximately 1,000 employees by 2003.
Excelergy files statement for IPO
CAMBRIDGE – Excelergy Corporation said it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering. The company said it would use the proceeds from the sale for general corporate purposes, potential acquisitions, or investments in complementary businesses or technologies. Excelergy offers business-to-business transaction management, customer relationship management and e-commerce solutions for the deregulating retail energy industry.
New Service puts user through the hoops
WALTHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– ESPN.com, part of GO.com, and Fact City, the only fact-finding engine for Internet portals, search engines and vertical market Web sites, announced the first Internet facts-on-demand service. The service will enable ESPN.com users to ask questions about men’s college basketball and instantly receive accurate facts and historical statistics. The launch of this service coincides with the opening of the men’s college basketball championship tournament. Fact City is an add-on service that enhances the user experience on any Internet site. The ESPN.com and Fact City alliance offers sports fans instant access to a wealth of men’s college basketball statistics from 1996 to present, including information on players, teams, coaches, seasons, tournaments, arenas and mascots. A link to the ESPN.com “NCAA StatSearch” service can be found on the front page of the men’s college basketball section. It can also be located by going directly to this Web address: http://espn.factcity.net
