TECHNOLOGY - Nov. 12, 1998

By Karen Kaplan

Nov. 12, 1998 12 AM PT

GeoCities, a Santa Monica company that offers free home pages on the Web, is hoping to expand its reach on the Internet with the purchase of Ashland, Ore.-based Starseed for nearly $32 million. Closely held Starseed is best known for its WebRing technology, which is used to link sites with a common theme, making the Web easier to navigate. GeoCities spokesman Bruce Zanka said the deal is expected to boost GeoCities’ traffic and thereby boost advertising revenue. GeoCities will pay Starseed $2 million in cash, issue as many as 775,000 new shares of common stock and assume as much as $700,000 in debt. Separately, GeoCities is planning to move from its headquarters to a larger office near Marina del Rey. Its shares fell $4.69 to close at $37.69 on Nasdaq.

Technology and the Internet Business

Karen Kaplan

Karen Kaplan covers science and medical research for the Los Angeles Times. She has been a member of the science team since 2005, including 13 years as an editor. Her first decade at The Times was spent covering technology in the Business section as both a reporter and editor. She grew up in San Diego and is a graduate of MIT and Columbia University.

TECHNOLOGY - Nov. 12, 1998

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