E-tailer Mercata to Fold After Loss of Financing

Mercata Inc., an online retailer whose largest investor is Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, said it is shutting down, one day after it scrapped plans for an initial public offering of stock. Founder and Chief Executive Tom Van Horn said that after a financing deal fell through Tuesday, he decided the company would have to fold, making it the latest casualty of market rejection of e-commerce. Launched in May 1999, Mercata was designed as a consumer shopping site, where prices dropped as more buyers agreed to buy an item. The Bellevue, Wash.-based company said its 100 employees will be paid through the end of March. It will continue to accept orders through Jan. 31.