Bright Station Acquires eCommerce Technology Assets of boo.com.

Business/Technology Editors

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2000

Bright Station plc (LSE:BSN, NASDAQ: BSTN) (www.brightstation.com), the Web solutions, eCommerce and Internet ventures group, today announced that it has agreed to acquire the key eCommerce technology assets and associated intellectual property rights of boo.com, from KPMG, the company's liquidators, for an undisclosed sum.

These technology assets will be incorporated into Sparza (www.sparza.com), Bright Station's existing eCommerce technology business, and will complement Sparza's existing B2B eCommerce software solutions by providing an important-to-consumer element. In addition, Bright Station is in advanced discussions to hire the key technology and programming staff who were responsible for the development of the assets being acquired.

The assets being acquired are the eCommerce engine and associated software that formed the core infrastructure behind the boo.com site. This state-of-the art technology represents the bulk of the investment that has been made in boo.com over its life and accounts for many thousands of hours of programming expertise. The acquisition will provide Sparza with a fully developed and market-tested consumer eCommerce engine, which complements the existing business-to-business solution offered by the company.

Andy Dancer, Chief Technology Officer of Bright Station eCommerce Solutions, said: "Boo's technology solution is the result of a massive investment program and is widely acknowledged as a state-of-the-art consumer eCommerce solution. We have been able to purchase it for a fraction of its development cost. This agreement is strategically important for Sparza as it provides us with a market-leading consumer eCommerce engine to complement our existing business-to-business solutions."

Dan Wagner, Chief Executive of Bright Station plc, said: "This technology will greatly enhance the number of potential customers for our eCommerce business as we can now offer solutions to the entire supply chain, from manufacturers to wholesalers/distributors and now, as a result of this transaction, to consumer retailers.

"In addition, the opportunity to take on a number of top-rate programmers addresses a key element of our recruitment plans for Sparza, and is a fantastic opportunity in a market which is highly competitive for talented programmers."

The above agreement is subject to court approval and contract, both of which are expected to be formalities and to be completed within the next few days.

Bright Station plc (http://brightstation.com) is comprised of three divisions:

- Web Solutions (WSD) - focused on the proprietary InfoSort

content indexing technology, Muscat natural language search

technology, WebTop/WebCheck concept-based search tool and

SmartLogik, the Knowledge Management suite of solutions.

- eCommerce (ECD) - containing the B2B OfficeShopper Internet

procurement business, and the Sparza B2B eCommerce licensing

technologies.

- Internet Ventures (IVD) - the third and newest division, IVD

has recently been launched to nurture, and invest in,

promising high technology and Internet start-up businesses

leveraging the Company's technology assets and expertise.