Revenues are slow-ing due to the downturn in the online advertising market, which underpins several of CMGI's core holdings. And the worry now is that AltaVista will be unable to exploit this technology because of CMGI's cash constraints. This has led some in the market to believe that CMGI would be willing to accept a dilution of its stake in AltaVista in return for a cash investment that would speed the group's path to profitability and the exploitation of its technology. One source said senior CMGI executives had told him recently that a strategic partner for AltaVista would be very welcome. It is a good search engine and there are probably a lot of opportunities for it.
Former employees joke that it's cursed.
The firm has the distinction of having had IPO plans shelved on three occasions, each time by a different parent. AltaVista is conceived by Digital Equipment Corp engineers. Also hires DoubleClick to sell ads on its site, which becomes a top 10 Web destination. Digital begins to think about an IPO but plans are aborted. Compaq buys Digital.