Webvan hopes to deliver on billion-dollar gamble July 10, 1999 In what may be the boldest move yet by an e-commerce startup, grocery delivery company Webvan plans to build huge high-tech grocery warehouses in the 26 largest markets in the United States over the next two years. The company claims that each warehouse will have the inventory capacity of 20 supermarkets. The construction -- to be handled by Bechtel , one of the world´s biggest construction companies -- will cost $1 billion. Costs for a full-scale national launch, including inventories and employees, will bring the tab up considerably. Webvan closes, files Chapter 11 July 9, 2001 Webvan Group Inc. of Foster City, Calif., announced today that it has ceased operations in all seven of its markets, and that it will file for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. Webvan, which went public in late 1999, traded as high as $34 per share following its IPO. Nasdaq halted trading in the company´s shares today just before 8:00 AM ET, when shares were trading at 6 cents. Later on, Nasdaq changed Webvan´s halt status to "additional information requested" from the company. Webvan had planned to reverse-split its stock at a ratio of one share for 25, a move which shareholders had The company never came close to making money, losing $830 million since its inception.

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