ICG Buys Stake in ECredit.com:

Internet Capital Group Inc., an investor in electronic-commerce businesses, agreed to make its largest investment so far, buying a stake in online financing broker ECredit.com for $450 million in stock as it pushes into financial services. Internet Capital bought 33% to 85% of closely held ECredit, said Ken Fox, ICG’s managing director and co-founder. ECredit, based in Dedham, Mass., uses the Web to connect companies to lending institutions, cutting the processing time for credit and financing applications. Internet Capital has been assembling a network of companies that link buyers and sellers of goods and services on the Web. Shares of Internet Capital, based in Wayne, Pa., fell 13 cents to close at $119.13 on Nasdaq. The shares have surged almost twentyfold since the company’s initial stock offering in August.