Lycos Europe
Lycos Europe was a pan-European internet-services company that operated localized portals, search, communication, hosting, community, e-commerce and internet-access services before being liquidated from 2008 onward.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Lycos Europe was a pan-European internet company established in May 1997 as a joint venture between German media group Bertelsmann and Lycos, Inc. of the United States. Its purpose was to adapt the Lycos portal concept to individual European markets rather than operate a single undifferentiated regional service. The company combined the Lycos name and technology with Bertelsmann's media, content and commercial relationships. Bertelsmann supplied the venture with an initial investment reported at $10 million, while Lycos contributed the underlying technology. The partners subsequently broadened their arrangement so that Bertelsmann could provide content from its European media businesses and promote e-commerce offerings to Lycos Europe's user base. The business developed a network of localized online properties spanning multiple European countries. Its activities included web search, portal content, email and other communication tools, online communities, chat, homepage creation, web hosting, e-commerce-related services and internet access. Rather than being a European subsidiary of the American Lycos company, Lycos Europe was an independent corporation that licensed the Lycos name for use in Europe. This distinction became particularly important after Terra, the internet subsidiary of Telefónica, acquired Lycos, Inc. in 2000. The transaction created the Terra Lycos group, but Lycos Europe remained separately controlled, with Bertelsmann retaining influence over the European venture. Lycos Europe reached the public markets during the peak of the dot-com boom. In March 2000 it completed an initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange's Neuer Markt. The offering raised approximately €612 million and valued the company at about €5.5 billion according to contemporary accounts. After Terra acquired Lycos, Inc., Bertelsmann agreed to commit substantial advertising expenditure with Terra Lycos in exchange for maintaining control of Lycos Europe. The arrangement linked the European portal to the wider Terra Lycos ecosystem while preserving its separate corporate identity. The company also experimented with highly visible user-participation initiatives. In November 2004 it launched the Make Love Not Spam screensaver for Windows and Mac computers. Marketed partly alongside the Spray Mail email service, the program recruited users' computers to send traffic toward websites identified as sources of spam. Although participation was disclosed and voluntary, security specialists criticized the approach because its technical behavior resembled a distributed denial-of-service network. Lycos Europe stopped distributing and deactivated the software on 21 December 2004, amid criticism and reports that the campaign may have prompted retaliatory attacks. By 2008, the company was no longer considered viable as an independent operating group. In November of that year Lycos Europe announced that shareholders had called for liquidation and that the company would close or sell its remaining operations. Terra held approximately 32 percent of the company and Bertelsmann approximately 20 percent at the time. During the subsequent wind-down, individual businesses, brands, domains and services were transferred to different buyers or operators. These transactions involved the Jubii portal, Lycos Chat, Love@Lycos, Paperball, Fireball, Caramail and MultiMania, among others. Following liquidation, the European company no longer had the right to use the Lycos name and parts of its former activity continued under the Jubii Europe name or under new owners. Lycos Europe is therefore best understood as a defunct European internet-services group rather than as the European operating arm of Lycos, Inc.
History
Lycos Europe originated in May 1997 as a joint venture between Bertelsmann and Lycos, Inc. The venture was designed to create localized versions of an internet portal for different European countries. Bertelsmann brought capital, media content and commercial relationships; Lycos supplied the technology and brand platform. The initial investment was reported at $10 million. The relationship later expanded to include content from Bertelsmann's European media holdings and promotion of Bertelsmann e-commerce services to Lycos Europe's audience. The company built a network rather than a single product. Its portfolio covered portal publishing, search, email, chat, online communities, personal homepages, hosting, e-commerce and internet access. This broad approach reflected the prevailing portal model of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when internet companies sought to retain users across multiple activities. Lycos Europe was structurally independent from Lycos, Inc.; it used the American company's name under license but was not simply a European branch of the United States corporation. Lycos Europe went public in March 2000 on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange's Neuer Markt. Its IPO reportedly raised €612 million at a valuation of approximately €5.5 billion, illustrating the high expectations placed on internet portals during the dot-com expansion. In April 2000 Terra acquired Lycos, Inc. in a stock transaction valued at approximately $12.5 billion. The enlarged business operated as Terra Lycos. Lycos Europe was not absorbed into that corporate structure in the same way: Bertelsmann retained control of the European company. As part of the broader arrangement, Bertelsmann agreed to purchase approximately $1 billion in advertising from Terra Lycos over five years. The company remained active across Europe and continued to develop communications and community products. One of its most controversial initiatives was Make Love Not Spam, launched in November 2004. The downloadable screensaver asked users to participate in a collective anti-spam action. While users knowingly installed the software, its traffic-generating behavior was criticized as effectively creating a voluntary botnet and as resembling a distributed denial-of-service attack. Lycos Europe halted distribution and deactivated the program on 21 December 2004. Reports also indicated that the service may have faced counterattacks from parties associated with spam operations. The later history of Lycos Europe was defined by retrenchment and asset disposal. In November 2008 the company announced that shareholders had called for liquidation. Terra held around 32 percent and Bertelsmann around 20 percent at that point. Instead of continuing as a unified portal group, Lycos Europe sold or transferred individual assets. The Danish Jubii portal was sold; Lycos Chat was transferred to another operator in March 2009; Love@Lycos was sold to a Swedish company; Paperball went to Paperball GmbH in Munich; Fireball went to Ambrosia AG in Switzerland; and the Caramail trademark and domains were acquired by United Internet. MultiMania's free hosting activity continued through Conversis hosting GmbH. After liquidation, Lycos, Inc. withdrew permission to use the Lycos name, and some residual European operations continued under Jubii Europe. The company consequently became a historical example of the rise and decline of the European portal model.
- 2009
Service and brand disposals continue
[1]Chat, search, email, hosting and portal assets were transferred to new operators or buyers during the company's wind-down.
- 2008
Liquidation announced
[1]Lycos Europe announced that shareholders had called for liquidation and began preparing its remaining businesses for sale or transfer.
- 2004
Make Love Not Spam introduced
[1]Lycos Europe launched a screensaver-based anti-spam initiative that recruited users' computers to generate traffic against identified spam-related websites.
- 2004
Anti-spam screensaver withdrawn
[1]The company ended distribution and disabled the Make Love Not Spam program after security criticism and reported counterattacks.
- 2000
Initial public offering
[1]Lycos Europe raised approximately €612 million in an IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange's Neuer Markt, at a reported valuation of about €5.5 billion.
- 2000
Terra acquires Lycos, Inc.
[1]Terra acquired Lycos, Inc., creating Terra Lycos. Lycos Europe remained a separately controlled European company, with Bertelsmann retaining influence.
- 1997
Lycos Europe established
[1]Bertelsmann and Lycos, Inc. formed a joint venture to build localized internet portals for European markets.
Products and positioning
A broad, localized European internet-services network combining portal content, search, communications, communities, hosting and online commercial services under a licensed Lycos identity.
Web portal · 1997
Localized Lycos portals
The core offering was a network of country- and language-oriented European web portals. These combined search, editorial content, communications, community functions and links to commercial services. The localized structure allowed Lycos Europe to work with regional media and internet markets instead of presenting users with only a centralized United States service.
Web search
Lycos Search
Search was one of Lycos Europe's principal portal functions. The group operated European search properties and related vertical services, including the news-search service Paperball and the search engine Fireball. These properties were later separated and transferred during liquidation.
Online community
Lycos Chat
Lycos Chat was a European real-time communication and community service. At one stage it was associated with both Lycos and Yahoo chat activity in Europe. The service was transferred to a new operator on 9 March 2009 and was briefly identified as Noesis Chat before later changes in ownership and branding.
Email
Spray Mail
Spray Mail was an email service promoted by Lycos Europe. It was part of the company's broader communications portfolio and was also used as a marketing context for the Make Love Not Spam screensaver campaign.
Web portal
Jubii
Jubii was a Danish portal business within the Lycos Europe portfolio. It was among the notable assets sold during the liquidation process and subsequently became associated with the residual European operations that continued under the Jubii Europe name.
Web hosting
MultiMania
MultiMania provided free web hosting and homepage-related services, fitting Lycos Europe's strategy of combining portal activity with user-generated and personal web tools. After the wind-down, Conversis hosting GmbH continued the free hosting service.
Email
Caramail
Caramail was a French email-service brand whose trademark and domain assets were transferred to United Internet during the liquidation of Lycos Europe.
Controversies
2004
Make Love Not Spam distributed-denial-of-service controversy
The anti-spam screensaver was criticized because participating computers collectively sent traffic to targeted websites in a way that security experts compared with a botnet or distributed denial-of-service operation. Although users knowingly opted in, the technical and ethical implications generated substantial negative attention. Lycos Europe ended the program after several weeks and reportedly faced counterattacks believed to be connected with spam operators.
Marketing campaigns
- 2004Make Love Not Spam
Europe · Online
Lycos Europe promoted an anti-spam screensaver for Windows and Mac computers. Users could voluntarily install the software, which generated traffic toward websites identified as spam sources. The campaign linked a public-interest message about reducing spam with promotion of the Spray Mail service.
Outcome. Distribution was stopped and the installed programs were disabled on 21 December 2004 after strong criticism from internet-security specialists and reports of retaliatory attacks.
Brand decisions
2008
Begin liquidation and asset salesStrategyBackground
Lycos Europe announced that shareholders had called for liquidation as the company could no longer continue as a unified independent internet-services group.
Action taken
The company began selling or transferring portals, search services, communication products, trademarks and domains to separate buyers and operators.
Aftermath
The Lycos Europe corporate operation was wound down. Several services continued under new ownership or branding, while the European company lost the right to use the Lycos name.
2004
Launch a user-powered anti-spam campaignStrategyBackground
Lycos Europe sought to market its Spray Mail email service while responding to the widespread problem of unsolicited email.
Action taken
It released the Make Love Not Spam screensaver, allowing users to opt in to software that generated traffic against websites associated with spam.
Aftermath
Security experts criticized the program as technically similar to a voluntary botnet or distributed denial-of-service tool. Lycos Europe stopped distribution and disabled the software on 21 December 2004.
Recent events
- 2009
Lycos Europe assets transferred during wind-down[1]
M&A · Other
During the liquidation process, services and brands including Lycos Chat, Love@Lycos, Paperball, Fireball, Caramail and MultiMania were sold, transferred or continued under new operators.
- 2008
Shareholders call for Lycos Europe liquidation[1]
Bankruptcy · Other
Lycos Europe announced that shareholders had called for the company's liquidation. The group began selling or transferring remaining businesses and services, marking the end of its operation as an independent pan-European internet company.
- 2004
Lycos Europe launches Make Love Not Spam screensaver[1]
Campaign · Other
Lycos Europe introduced an optional screensaver for Windows and Mac computers that used participating users' machines to generate traffic against websites associated with spam. The initiative promoted the Spray Mail service but attracted criticism because its operation resembled a coordinated denial-of-service campaign.
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