Prodigy to Buy FlashNet:

Prodigy Communications Corp. said it agreed to buy FlashNet, an Internet service provider that offered free computers to new customers but struggled to keep up with demand. The stock-swap deal is valued at about $120 million. Prodigy, based in White Plains, N.Y., will exchange 0.35 share for each FlashNet share. Prodigy will continue to offer personal computer rebates of as much as $400 through retailers, but it will not duplicate FlashNet’s since-discontinued practice of offering a free computer to new subscribers who signed long-term agreements. Shares of FlashNet fell $1.56 to close at $8.44, a 16% drop, while shares of Prodigy fell $2.13 to $22.63, or 9%, on Nasdaq.