British Telecommunications Plc has acquired a 50% stake in Excite Inc’s UK subsidiary for $10m. BT presented the investment as a means to promote business-to-consumer internet commerce as well as a way to reap revenue from internet advertising. As part of the deal BT will market BT’s pay-as-you-go internet access service BT Click, as Excite Click. The Yankee Group in the UK reckons web advertising is running at about $5m per quarter at present, which reflects the relatively low cost of BT’s stake.
