United Online wins bid for Kmart's Internet Access

United Online Inc., operator of NetZero and Juno, has won an auction bid for Kmart's online Internet access business, BlueLight.com. Financial analysts declared that United Online snared a blue light special of its own by bidding $8.4 million US for BlueLight's 165,000 online subscribers. "The deal seems like an intelligent move for United Online because it represents a cheap way to grab 165,000 subscribers," said Fred Moran, an analyst with Jefferies & Co. in New York. The price works out to about $50. per subscriber, far less than the normal ISP rate of $100-200 per subscriber. This will significantly boost United Online's subscriber base, which before the bid was 3.1 million free internet service subscribers, and 1.7 million paying subscribers. BlueLight.com subscribers will keep their current email addresses and continue to receive services for the current rate of $8.95 per month, at least for the time being.