Onsale and Egghead Head Down the Aisle

SAN FRANCISCO -- Soft economic data are lending a positive tone to the market early today, though gains have been stymied by a lack of progress from the bond market.

TheStreet.com Internet Sector index was up 6.13, or 1.5%, at 663.23 early today.

Net/Tech Indices INDEX CHANGE % VALUE TSC Internet 8.04 +1.2% 661.14 TSC E-Commerce 0.5 +0.4% 114.72 TSC E-Finance 13/16 +1.3% 90 3/8 Nasdaq 11.00 +0.4% 2789.20

Yet another Net-sector marriage was announced today, this time between online retailer and auctioneer Onsale (ONSL Quote) and online computer and software retailer Egghead.com (EGGS Quote). The deal is valued at approximately $400 million. Egghead.com shareholders will receive 0.565 share of Onsale for each outstanding share of Egghead.com. Based on Tuesday's closing prices, Egghead.com shares are valued at around 12.7125, a slight premium from its 12 1/16 closing price Tuesday. ...