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By editorial@silicon.com, 6 July 2001 18:00

COMMENT Sometimes a change of name can make all the difference - just look at Englebert Humperdinck, formerly Arnold George Dorsey. In the business world a company name change is sometimes a commercial or even legal necessity. Accenture, for instance, seems to have enjoyed a relatively successful transition following its nasty split with Arthur Andersen. However, the desire to scrap one name for another is sometimes a sign that those behind the scenes are desperate to breathe life into a flagging brand - take BT Cellnet for instance. But it can take more than a name change to dig a company out of the ditch. Bright Station, the company with a finger in various internet-related ventures, is for the third time about to go through a name change and be re-born as Smartlogik. The company, under the charge of Dan Wagner, has a pretty chequered history. In its first carnation it was called Maid although this was soon changed to Dialog following the Knight Ridder takeover - although allegedly it was referred to as 'dial-a-dog' by the city. In an effort to shake off its image as a debt-laden company, it became Bright Station. Wagner's most controversial business moves include the purchase of Knight Ridder for £260m. The business was riddled with debt and eventually Wagner got rid of it, incurring a £90m loss along the way. Perhaps most significantly, his image was in tatters. He also bought part of white elephant boo.com at a time when nobody else would have touched it with a barge pole. Does that make him brave or naive? So now Bright Station finds itself miles from profitability, clinging to a share price that has slumped from a year high of 55.5p to just 5.50p. It's got rid of non-core assets and it's decided it wants to stick to just one thing and be a pure-play knowledge management company. But will the name change to Smartlogik bring a turnaround in fortune? Probably not. The fact that five directors, including Wagner, have now departed, leaving Inktomi founder Stephen Hill in charge, just might.