Terra makes $12.5bn bid for Lycos

NEWS Spanish Internet company, Terra Networks, has offered to buy Lycos for $12.5bn. Terra claims the acquisition - at $98 dollars per Lycos share - will create the first truly global Internet company called Terra Lycos. The companies hope to merge Lycos' global search engine brand with Terra's access to the Spanish and Latin American market. Terra Networks is majority owned by Spanish telco Telefonica, and chairman Juan Villalonga will become Terra Lycos' chairman, with Bob Davis, CEO of Lycos, becoming the company's executive adviser. Terra Lycos will have access to Telefonica's fixed and wireless networks, which it claims serve 61 million customers across the world. The deal also includes a strategic alliance with media giant Bertelsmann, which will provide content over a five-year period. More to follow...