Go.com tracking stock makes trading debut
Go.com, the tracking stock for the Walt Disney Company's Internet holdings, remains within a narrow range during its first day of trading.
Go.com, which trades under the ticker symbol "GO," is the tracking stock for Disney's myriad Web sites, which include the Go Network portal, ESPN.com, ABCNews.com, Disney Online and Disney's Daily Blast.
The stock today traded as high as 37.69 and as low as 33; since midmorning, it has hovered around 35.
The issuance of Go.com stock comes a day after shareholders from Disney and Infoseek approved the entertainment giant's acquisition of Infoseek. With the agreement, Infoseek and Disney's Buena Vista Internet Group will be traded under the single Go.com tracking stock.
Trading also comes days after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against Disney for its Go Network logo. Search engine GoTo.com filed a lawsuit claiming that the Go Network logo caused consumer confusion with its own logo. Both logos depict a green circle on a yellow background with white lettering.
Disney took a 43 percent stake in Infoseek in June 1998 in an effort to create its own Web portal that would feature its many well-known sites. But since the launch in January this year, the service has hit some bumps.
"We've lost some momentum," Steve Wadsworth, president of Go.com, said in an interview yesterday.
Wadsworth said part of the struggle was operational. Infoseek, which controlled Go Network's daily operations, had its own leadership in chief executive Harry Motro but still had to report to Buena Vista for many overarching issues. This created some confusion within the organization, Wadsworth said.
"For us, the strategy and opportunity hasn't been the issue--it's been the execution," Wadsworth said. Disney was up 1 at 27 in afternoon trading today.