Responding to questions from CMGI's shareholders at the
company's annual meeting yesterday, company Chair & CEO
David Wetherell "staunchly defended" the 15-year, $120M deal
naming rights agreement with the Patriots, according to
Kerber & Vaillancourt of the BOSTON GLOBE. At the meeting,
Wetherell said that despite the company's current market
woes, he "expected to fulfill the contract" with the team.
Wetherell "stressed" that CMGI "does not have to pay a dime
until 2002," giving the company 18 months of "free publicity
during a critical restructuring period." However, he said
for the "first time" that if CMGI decides naming rights "are
not an appropriate marketing vehicle," the terms of the deal
allow CMGI to assign the stadium name to a subsidiary or
sell the rights to another company. Wetherell: "We have the
opportunity to change the name, or we could sell the naming
rights. It's an asset that the company will treat like any
other." Wetherell: "If it turns out the branding (with the
stadium) is not a good thing for CMGI, we can sell it. ...
Hopefully the difficult times won't last forever." If CMGI
were to sell the naming rights, the Kraft family holds the
right to veto "any would-be purchaser." Patriots COO Andy
Wasynczuk: "We are still very bullish on our relationship
with CMGI. We negotiated a deal which gives us both
flexibility and protection" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/21).
STOCK WOES: USA TODAY's Matt Krantz calls CMGI "the
poster child of" the drop in the Nasdaq. CMGI is the
"biggest percentage loser of any stock in the Nasdaq 100
from its 52-week high, off 97%." CMGI closed yesterday at
$5.53, down from its 52-week high of $164.75. CMGI has lost
$50.4B in market value since January (USA TODAY, 12/21).
CMGI shareholders asked Wetherell "to resign, turning nasty
on the man they treated like an Internet superstar last
year." Despite the company's performance this year,
Wetherell said he is not resigning (REUTERS, 12/20).
