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Letsbuyit.com pulls out of IPO (again)

Ants in their pants

Online co-op Letsbuyit.com has delayed a stockmarket flotation for the second time in two months, even though it had slashed its original valuation by nearly half. The first float, where it valued the company at between £750 million and £1 billion was pulled because of "market volatility". The company's investors pledged to stand by it. There's been no excuse given for the second pull, which had valued Letsbuyit at £500 million. The Reg has always maintained that the company's concept and business plan is shaky (story: Letsbuyit.com ducks out of float) nd we are looking increasingly right.



Vodafone looks set to bow to shareholder pressure over its £10 million bonus to CEO Chris Gent. The telecomms company was last night on the point of pledging not to repeat the payout, today's

FT

reported.




DirectLine has launched an online car dealership for new and second-hand cars online. Jamjar.com (US readers - jam jar is Cockney rhyming-slang for car) joins other cybershowrooms in promising to be cheaper than traditional high-street dealerships. Customers also get to sell their cars online.



Each vehicle comes with a three-year warranty, one year's breakdown cover, 12 month road tax and a week's return policy. And prepare yourselves for a £15 million marketing campaign.



Yahoo! shares rocketed yesterday when it amazed analysts by declaring a 12-cents-a-share income when they thought it'd be 10 cents. The better than expected profit, attributed to global expansion, caused shares to leap 12 per cent. Revenue for the quarter was $270.12 million from $128.57 million same time last year, net income from $27.06 million to $73.99 million.




Jellyworks, the Internet investment company, has fallen victim to a reverse takeover by Shore Capital, the company announced yesterday. A spokesman for Jellyworks said that its portfolio of quoted and unquoted investments would be better off as part of a larger investment banking operation. Floated six months ago at a trifling 5p per share, at the height of the dotcom boom earlier this year, Jellyworks was valued at £300 million. The price has since wobbled its way down to £67 million, or 30p per share.




Online bill paying in the UK may arrive a little later than expected. Apacs, the clearing house for banks and building societies had planned to introduce an industry-wide scheme, but now admits that not all the banks concerned are officially on board. The organisation also confessed that it had not yet signed up a systems supplier to provide the service. A spokesman said that a final decision about the proposals would be made by the end of the month.




Online stockbroker E*Trade is offering a souped up service to wheeler dealers who buy, buy,buy, sell,sell, sell more than 30 times a month. Power7 E*Trade offers cheaper commissions after the 30th deal - a flat £8.95 compared with up to £19.95 for those who trade stocks less regularly. Only about 2,000 or 3,000 people currently trade at these levels with the service. ®



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