Loss-making Lycos Europe is to be
broken up and some parts of the business closed down, resulting in
hundreds of redundancies.
The main Lycos business is owned by South Korean internet firm
Daum Communications. The failing Lycos Europe business is
controlled by German media group Bertelsmann and Spanish telecoms
company Telefonica.
The plan to sell some parts of Lycos Europe and close other
operations is expected to lead to hundreds of redundancies, mainly
in countries including Germany and The Netherlands, where the firm
has its headquarters.
Lycos Europe has suffered from falling web advertising and
service revenue, in a similar way Yahoo has suffered on a global
scale.
An investor had previously been sought for the operation, but
Lycos management has failed to find one. The web hosting and most
of the portal operations are now expected to be closed down.
