Last Friday brought news of two Internet deals. First, Yahoo purchased Kelkoo, a French company that runs online shopping comparison sites in nine countries, for approximately $575 million in cash (about 16x Kelkoo's yearly revenues). And Infospace announced its acquisition of Switchboard (an American localized search company) for $160 million in cash and stock (paying 15x yearly revenues).

These acquisitions hammer home the trend that Internet shopping and search information are two hot commerce areas. We are also seeing a rapid consolidation of properties in these sectors.

The large multiples being paid (in excess of 15x revenues) further indicate that the whole Internet sector is getting white hot. Some pundits are saying that the excesses of the 1990s bubble are erupting again. But 2004 is different than a few years ago because companies being acquired today are solvent, profitable and grabbing market share.

Jockeying amongst the biggest players is fierce. You can count on deals from Yahoo, eBAY, Amazon, InterActive, Google and others to accelerate in the coming months. Lots of excitement for the Internet Planet!