SWEDISH DOT-COM GETS LEVY CRED

If you thought that the pre-IPO goosing of Internet companies was a purely American phenomenon, think again. The Brits have caught on, and now the Swedes are at it as well.

In an effort to increase the value of its upcoming IPO, Swedish music company Boxman.com has brought in former PolyGram global ruler Alain Levy as what it calls a “non-executive director.”

Boxman.com is an e-tailer along the lines of CDNow and Amazon.com, both of which are in the process of expanding into Europe. The two-year-old company has yet to decide whether its shares will be traded on the London or Stockholm stock exchanges, Germany's Neuer Markt or on our own beloved NASDAQ.

“Levy's appointment is very significant as he's one of the most successful and senior people in the music industry and he'll further legitimize and strengthen our position in the music industry,” said Boxman.com CEO Tony Salter in a Reuters story. “We'll work more closely with him than with other non-executive members, who shall remain nameless, because Alain is le grand fromage and he will make me fabulously wealthy like all these Americans. Now, if you will excuse me, I must attend to the downloading of ‘Dancing Queen’ into my new computer.”

Boxman.com, which has 600,000-plus customers and reported $9 million in sales during the first half of 1999, is selling music, videos and games online in Sweden, France, the U.K. and Germany; the company plans to expand into five more European territories as well as Australia in the next year. Shareholders include Roxette and Ace of Base.