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First-e Group PLC was an online European bank during the dotcom years of 1998-2001. The company was based in Dublin, Ireland and at one point had over 400 employees. Similarly to many startups of its day it received significant funding from leading institutional investors totalling over $50 million (US). As a result it was able to market itself aggressively through various media channels. It was prominently featured in an article in The Economist regarding the European online banking industry. Many articles were also written in many of the leading Internet, technology, and business magazines of the time. First-e's arguably reached its peak during the UNOfirst merger in 2000. UNOfirst was a $2.4 billion (euro) merger that took place in the year 2000 with the European online bank Uno-e. After the dotcom speculative bubble burst in late 2000 the merger was called off. Both companies ceased to exist less than a year later.
