QXL.com is rethinking its proposed $300m offer for German online auction firm Ricardo.de after receiving new information from the firm.

The UK-based online auction giant is fighting to head off a determined move into the European marketplace by US auction site eBay, one of the few dotcoms to be in profit.

The market for online auctions is predicted by Forrester Research to be worth $19bn in the US by 2003 and should generate significant revenue in Europe. QXL.com and Ricardo are by far the biggest players in the European market aside from eBay.

QXL.com said in May that it proposed to acquire its German rival to create a firm then valued at $1.4bn, but now worth significantly less after QXL.com's share price fell heavily through the summer. Ricardo.de shareholders are due to receive 42.6 QXL.com shares for every Ricardo.de share.

A QXL spokeswoman said the firm wanted to get the best possible deal for its shareholders and would make further announcements "in a week or so".

Meanwhile, the firm reported a second quarter loss of £15.5m for the three months to 30 June, compared with £28.1m for the first quarter, although that figure contains £17.6m in acquisition and development charges.

Operating loss before exceptional items deepened to £14.1m from £11.2m as revenue fell to £1.9m from £2.2m. QXL.com said the fall in sales was due to its "continued shift towards an agency based model", where the company has no inventory risk or carrying costs.

However, QXL.com said it would bring forward plans to charge its users fees, introducing them in September, six months earlier than planned.

Site members almost doubled over the three months, from 557,000 to 1.1 million, helped by the consolidation of Swedish auction site Bidlet into QXl.com. The firm also signed a deal with web portal Lycos to feature on its hubs in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands during the period.

See also:

Under the hammer but not over the moon

Internet auction sites are appealing to consumers, but the same can't be said of resellers - yet.  17 Nov 2000

QXL to offer TV auctions through NTL

Internet auctioneer QXL.com has been signed up by UK cable company NTL to offer online auctions to interactive television customers this autumn.  14 Aug 2000

eBay US site dominates rising profit

Online auction site eBay.com has reported another profitable quarter, but said the financial performance of its European operations remained tiny compared with its US operations.  26 Jul 2000

eBay unveils online trading service

Online auction site eBay UK has launched a business exchange service on its website to attract small businesses.  26 Jun 2000

FBI investigates eBay over online art sale

California-based FBI fraud investigators have been called in to assess the legality of a recent sale by US online auction house eBay.  08 Jun 2000

Excite, MSN back new UK auction network

Competition among European auction websites has been further intensified by the arrival of another US auction network into the UK.  05 Jun 2000

QXL and 365 offer hope for dotcom revival

Two internet companies provided encouraging news to the UK's suffering dotcom market today, announcing increases in revenue and traffic.  31 May 2000

Online auction houses bid for European loyalty

QXL.com bought ricardo.de last week in an effort to become Europe's premier auction website. The company hopes to steal a march over US giant eBay by creating a local presence in different European countries.  24 May 2000

Like this story? Spread the news by clicking below:

 del.icio.us     Digg this     reddit!