Excite loses co-founder

NEWS Excite@home lost its co-founder William Randolph Hearst III on Friday, adding to the four directors that walked out two weeks ago. The news comes as the company continues the struggle to fend off creditors as it undergoes a messy Chapter 11 bankruptcy sell-off. Hearst left without giving a reason. AT&T is attempting to buy Excite's assets for $307m, which meant having to remove several of its directors from Excite's board as creditors claimed the deal price was fixed. Four of the six AT&T board members left Excite two weeks ago, a blow to the company that relies on AT&T to supply its high-speed internet network. Bondholders at Excite want the sale price to increase and are petitioning a judge to cut the cable service to AT&T and other partner subscribers until the price is right. Hearst III - a partner in venture capital company Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers - helped start Excite in 1995.