CMGI and PRIMEDIA Announce Strategic Alliance -- New Alliance to Include Equity Exchange Between the Two Companies.Business Editors ANDOVER, Mass. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 2000 Alliance to Accelerate PRIMEDIA's Internet Initiatives, Leverage Investment and Development Strength of CMGI CMGI Commonly Maintained Grounds Infrastructures CMGI College Marketing Group Information (Services) Network to Fuel Growth in Key B2B (Business to Business) Refers to one business communicating with or selling to another. See B2B e-commerce, B2C and B2G. B2B - business to business and B2C (Business to Consumer) Refers to a business communicating with or selling to an individual rather than a company. See B2B. Verticals David Wetherell, chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of CMGI, Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : CMGI) and Tom Rogers Thomas Andrew Rogers (February 12, 1892 - March 7, 1936) was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1917 to 1921 for the St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Athletics, and New York Yankees. , chairman and CEO of PRIMEDIA (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : PRM PRM Partner Relationship Management PRM Parameter PRM Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (US State Department) PRM Partidul Romania Mare (Romania Mare Party) PRM Professional Risk Manager ) today announced the formation of a strategic alliance that is intended to leverage each company's respective expertise in Internet investment and development and deep vertical industry content to fund and develop a series of new Web ventures. As part of the alliance, CMGI will acquire approximately 5 percent of PRIMEDIA (8 million PRIMEDIA shares) in exchange for 1.53 million shares of CMGI. CMGI is the world's largest and most diverse network of Internet companies, including more than 65 leading Internet businesses spanning online marketing, content and community, infrastructure and e-commerce disciplines. PRIMEDIA is a leading targeted media company and the publisher of more than 250 magazine titles, 232 business and consumer information products, a variety of video businesses, and more than 200 Web sites. In addition to the initial share exchange, the new online companies, to be jointly created and funded by CMGI and PRIMEDIA, are expected to include participation from CMGI @Ventures, CMGI's affiliated venture capital arm, and vertical-specific content and intellectual property investments from PRIMEDIA. In addition, it is intended that each vertical venture will access and leverage the growing stable of CMGI-related products and services including companies such as MyWay.com, Engage, 1stUp.com, and NaviSite to help drive traffic, fuel monetization and provide access and hosting capabilities. Under the agreement, CMGI and PRIMEDIA will jointly identify key vertical areas, spanning both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) categories, such as agribusiness, digital entertainment, electrical/construction and telecommunications, for these new companies. The B2B ventures will cover vertical online communities being developed by PRIMEDIA's IndustryClick, the company's B2B portal. "For several months now, CMGI and PRIMEDIA have been crossing paths through our various operating and venture capital businesses, and I've come to appreciate the incredible array of vertical content assets within PRIMEDIA, both in the B2B and B2C spaces," said Wetherell. "PRIMEDIA is a company from which an enormous amount of new media value can be created, and through the application of our Internet expertise and various network services I'm confident that both companies can reap tremendous benefits. Since joining last Fall, Tom Rogers has gotten the company off to a fast start as a new media player and I look forward to exploring additional ways for our companies to create value together in the future." "Dave Wetherell's accomplishments with CMGI speak for themselves," said Rogers. "CMGI's combination of online operating expertise and investment skill provide a basis for a unique strategic collaboration between our two companies. I am confident that this relationship will be a great catalyst for PRIMEDIA's growth. This is a wonderful validation of PRIMEDIA's present asset base and our new media future for which we are very proud." About PRIMEDIA PRIMEDIA Inc. is a targeted media company, reaching consumer and business-to-business audiences through print, Internet, live events, video and radio. Some key consumer brands include Seventeen, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Chicago, Fly Fisherman one who fishes using natural or artificial flies as bait, especially one who fishes exclusively in that manner. - Walton. See also: Fly , Channel One Network, Horticulture, Modern Bride and American Baby and some key business-to-business brands include IntelliChoice, Telephony, Ward's, PROMO, SIMBA and American Demographics. Some of its more than 200 Internet sites include Seventeen.com, Mediacentral.com, Apartmentguide.com and Modernbride.com About CMGI and CMGI @Ventures With more than 65 companies, CMGI, Inc. (Nasdaq: CMGI) represents the largest, most diverse network of Internet businesses in the world, including both CMGI operating companies and synergistic investments made through its venture capital affiliate, CMGI @Ventures. CMGI leverages the technologies; content and market reach of its extended family of companies to foster rapid growth and industry leadership across its network and the larger Internet Economy The Internet Economy refers to conducting business through markets whose infrastructure is based on the Internet and World-Wide Web. An Internet economy differs from a traditional economy in a number of ways, including: communication, market segmentation, distribution costs, and price. . Compaq, Intel, Microsoft, Pacific Century CyberWorks and Sumitomo hold minority positions in CMGI. CMGI's majority-owned operating companies include Engage Technologies (Nasdaq: ENGA), NaviSite (Nasdaq: NAVI), 1ClickBrands, 1stUp.com, Activate.net, AdForce, Adsmart, AltaVista, CMGI Solutions, Equilibrium, Flycast, iCAST, MyWay.com, NaviNet, SalesLink, Tribal Voice
CMGI's corporate headquarters is at 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA 01810, Tel: 978-684-3600. CMGI @Ventures has offices there as well as at 3000 Alpine Road, Menlo Park, CA 94028. For additional information and a full listing of the CMGI and CMGI @Ventures companies, see http://www.cmgi.com and http://www.ventures.com This release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events, and these statements are subject to important factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. For a detailed discussion of these and other cautionary statements, please refer to CMGI's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including CMGI's Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. for the most recently ended fiscal year. This release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning PRIMEDIA's operations, economic performance and financial condition. These statements are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates which are inherently subject to uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, and reflect future business decisions which are subject to change. Some of these assumptions may not materialize, and unanticipated events will occur which can affect the Company's results. |
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