Meeting Fails to Reassure CMGI Investors

Chairman David Wetherell reportedly told shareholders at the meeting that directors had rejected an offer he made to step down, and that the board was searching for a chief operating officer to manage day-to-day operations.

The Andover, Massachusetts-based Internet holding company has been struggling to consolidate its businesses, selling off many of its various interests to concentrate on those that have the greatest potential for success.

CMGI recently reported a loss for the quarter ended October 31st of US$636.6 million, or $2.07 per share, compared with a per-share loss of 54 cents in the year-earlier quarter.

Wetherell said the quarter "marked the beginning of [the company's] aggressive steps to foster growth and achieve market leadership and profitability across all business segments." The company has enough cash to keep operations going for at least 30 months, reports quoted Wetherell as saying.

CMGI has been trying to get its many operating companies into order, reorganizing its businesses into six operating segments as it aims to reduce the number of its majority-owned operating companies to 5 to 10 by the end of the fiscal year.

The company last month announced plans to get out of the entertainment-portal business by disposing of its iCAST subsidiary, and to exit the free Internet access business by getting rid of its 1stUp.com division.

Meanwhile, CMGI shares have plummeted. Last January, the stock traded as high as 163 1/2.