Acquisitions and investments dominated the first quarter for Lycos Inc, resulting in very heavy losses after merger-related charges and amortization for the web portal company. In February it bought web community Tripod Inc for $58m in stock and during the quarter it took stakes in PlanetAll, GlobeComm Inc and started a joint venture in Japan with Sumitomo Corp. However, the charge for the quarter was $89.1m, driving net losses down to $91.5m in the quarter. Nobody was available at the company to explain the break down of the $89.1m. Minus the charge the company recorded losses of $2.4m, or $0.15 per share; that’s two cents ahead of what Wall street was expecting, according to First Call. Revenues rose 159% to $15.1m. Also yesterday, the company announced that it was filing for a public offering of 3.45 million shares, 2.45 million of them new and 1.0 million being sold by CMG@Ventures. CMG has been looking to sell its 42% stake in the company for a while, though it is not clear whether this constitutes CMG’s entire stake. Advertising revenues rose 22% in the quarter. Cash and equivalents were $39.6m at the end of the quarter.
