Home Corp

* @Home Corp., which promises lightning-fast Internet connections via cable TV lines, has admitted to potential trouble with accommodating large numbers of Web surfers at one time. In a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Redwood City-based Internet service provider said its network may be "unable to achieve or maintain a high speed of data transmission, especially as the number of the company's subscribers grows." But the company played down the Nov. 16 filing.

AT&T Corp. said Tuesday that it would pay $340 million to settle claims related to the bankruptcy of At Home Corp., a now-defunct broadband business in which it acquired a controlling stake in 2000. The company said the payment would not have a material effect on its operating results. Cable company Comcast Corp. -- which bought AT&T's broadband operations in 2003 -- will reimburse AT&T for half of the settlement amount as set forth in its purchase agreement.

@Home Corp. shares rose as much as 40% over the last week and a half on investor optimism that the provider of high-speed Internet access through cable TV wires will become a major player in the Internet industry. @Home closed at $64.94, down 13 cents in Nasdaq trading after earlier touching a record $70.44. The Redwood City-based company's shares have gained 160% so far this year. America Online Inc.'s planned $4.2-billion purchase of Netscape Communications Corp.

Excite@Home Corp. received Bankruptcy Court approval to continue high-speed Internet service for about 2.1 million subscribers through February under a series of deals that will generate $355 million for the company while preserving the right to sue its cable partners for alleged abuses. The agreements approved by U.S.

At Home Corp., a Redwood City company that does business as Excite@Home, said Wednesday it has signed an online event-ticketing Web venture agreement with Tickets.com Inc. in Costa Mesa. Terms weren't disclosed. The service, called Excite Events, will include a database and ability to purchase tickets for concerts, sporting events and other attractions online, At Home said in a press release. The service is available at http://events.excite.com.

@Home Corp. said its proposed $6.7-billion acquisition of Web search and directory company Excite Inc. received antitrust clearance from the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission. The deal is expected to close after Excite and @Home stockholders vote on it in meetings scheduled for May 28.

@Home Corp., the top provider of high-speed Internet access through cable-TV lines, said it will name Excite Inc. Chief Executive George Bell as president after it completes its $8.5-billion acquisition of Excite on Friday. @Home Chairman and CEO Tom Jermoluk will name Bell president of the new company at a shareholders meeting Friday to approve the acquisition.

Excite@Home Corp. agreed to buy IMall Inc. for about $425 million in stock to expand its online shopping area and boost revenue. Excite@Home, whose biggest shareholder is AT&T Corp., will exchange 0.46 share for each share of Santa Monica-based IMall. That values IMall at about $22.97 a share based on Excite@Home's stock price Tuesday. Redwood City, Calif.

Excite@Home Corp., the leading provider of high-speed Internet access over cable television lines, said Friday that it will sell its broadband business to AT&T Corp. for $307 million in cash and filed for bankruptcy protection. Under the agreement, the once-highflying company's network would become a part of AT&T, which already has a controlling interest in Excite@Home. The deal is subject to a bankruptcy judge's approval.

Excite@Home Corp., the troubled Internet content and high-speed service provider, said it would cut 25% of its staff and close some operations to save costs as it looks for a way to survive. The company, which is controlled by AT&T Corp. and has been struggling under mounting debt and sagging revenue, said it will close its MatchLogic interactive marketing subsidiary and "refine" the Excite.com portal. The planned layoffs, amounting to 500 jobs, will be made over the next three months, it said.

Bad news continued to mount Friday for cash-strapped Excite@Home Corp., as two key cable partners said they will stop selling the company's high-speed Internet service by June. The move by Cox Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp. is another in a string of blows to Excite@Home, which has been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy for much of the summer.

The outlook for Internet access provider Excite@Home Corp. dimmed further Monday when the company received demands that it must repay $50 million by Friday. Excite@Home, which has little cash left and $1 billion in debt, said it was contesting that demand, but added that if it is forced to repay, it could have a "materially adverse" effect on its liquidity and ability to fund operations. Shares of Excite@Home, formally At Home Corp., fell 11 cents, or 22%, to close at 39 cents on Nasdaq.

Internet service provider Excite@Home said Wednesday that it fired the independent auditor that raised questions about its prospects for staying in business. The company, however, said the move was planned months ago. Auditors from Ernst & Young said in a report filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission that money-losing Excite@Home, formally called At Home Corp., faces a risk of collapse unless it obtains a substantial cash infusion.

At Home Corp. (ATHM), the biggest provider of Internet service over cable television lines, is at risk of having its stock delisted from Nasdaq and its cash wiped out, Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Henry Blodget wrote in a report. At Home's shares, which fell10 cents to close at 87 cents on Friday, are below requirements for Nasdaq-listed companies, At Home said this week in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

* Moving In: @Home Corp. (ticker: ATHM) will become a component of the Nasdaq 100 index the close of trading Tuesday, Nasdaq said Thursday. The stock, which rose $2.13 to $115.25, will replace Tele-Communications Inc. The index has soared 72% in the last year. * Really Bad Timing Award: Timothy Kellis, an analyst at Adams, Harkness & Hill in Boston, cut his investment rating on Level One on Thursday and said a takeover bid from Intel was unlikely--just hours before Intel announced its offer.

@Home Corp., which does business as Excite@Home, said it is cutting 250 jobs, or about 8% of its work force, citing a slowdown in online advertising revenue. Excite@Home, which provides high-speed Internet access via cable modems and runs a Web portal, said the cuts will affect mainly producers of online content and employees in the finance and human relations departments. Offices in Seattle and Austin, Texas, will be closed, it said. Shares of Excite@Home closed off 28 cents at $8.31 on

At Home Corp., the top provider of Internet service over cable-television lines, said it will get $85 million in cash from AT&T Corp., its largest investor, to help fund the money-losing company. New York-based AT&T is refunding money it previously received from the company, which also is known as Excite@Home. Officials have negotiated a new agreement to run At Home's Internet network, they said in a statement. Redwood City, Calif.

@Home Corp., which does business as Excite@Home, said it is cutting 250 jobs, or about 8% of its work force, citing a slowdown in online advertising revenue. Excite@Home, which provides high-speed Internet access via cable modems and runs a Web portal, said the cuts will affect mainly producers of online content and employees in the finance and human relations departments. Offices in Seattle and Austin, Texas, will be closed, it said. Shares of Excite@Home closed off 28 cents at $8.31 on