Infoseek Seems to Be Top Contender In Heated Contest Over Netscape Engine
Infoseek Corp. appears to be the leading contender in a closely watched contest to create a new search engine for Netscape Communications Corp.'s popular Web site, people familiar with the matter said.</br></br>A Netscape spokeswoman said the Mountain View, Calif., company hadn't made a definitive choice and that discussions continue with a wide range of Internet players. But the people familiar with the situation said the software company is in serious negotiations with Infoseek over a deal that would create a search service using Netscape's brand and tie the two companies together in other ways. Netscape could garner more than $25 million a year from Infoseek, own parts of Infoseek's technology and perhaps take an equity position in the company, they said.</br></br>Word about a potential deal drove Infoseek's shares up 4.1% in heavy trading. The stock rose $1.3125 to $33.625 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, while Netscape closed on Nasdaq at $27.3125, down 87.5 cents.</br></br>But other potential deals remain in the offing. Netscape is still in talks with companies such as Excite Inc., Lycos Corp. and Inktomi Corp. about the role each could play in the reconfiguration of its Netcenter site, ranging from providing information to licensing software tools to paying multimillion-dollar fees for links to their sites from Netcenter, these people said.</br></br>Not everyone is still talking, though. Executives at the Internet's top search and directory company, Yahoo! Inc., have said they are unlikely to do any "work for hire" for Netscape and may not even purchase a position on Netcenter's search page, which Yahoo has done for several years.