CityXpress Receives Equity Investment from Knight Ridder to Fuel Growth in Newspaper Auctions.Business Editors VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2004 Long-Time Investor Lee Enterprises Converts to Equity in Associated Transaction CityXpress Corp.(OTCBB OTCBB See OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB). :CYXP), the leading provider of online auctions for newspapers, today announced that it has received an equity investment from Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder (IPA: /ˈrɪdɚ/) was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Investment Company, a subsidiary of Knight Ridder, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :KRI KRI Knight Ridder KRI Kundalini Research Institute KRI Key Risk Indicator KRI Khlopin Radium Institute (Russia) KRI Kapal Republik Indonesia (Republic of Indonesia Ship) KRI Knowledge Research Institute, Inc. ). The company also announced that Lee Enterprises, Inc. had converted its remaining loans and interest to common shares of CityXpress. On April 9, 2004, Lee converted its convertible debentures into common shares of the company. Lee and Knight Ridder will become majority shareholders of the company, on a combined basis. CityXpress' shareholders approved the transactions on May 28, 2004, at the company's annual meeting. The financing from Knight Ridder and the conversion of debt to equity by Lee places CityXpress in a much-stronger financial position for expansion, said Phil Dubois Phil DuBois (born November 16, 1956 in Rochester, Minnesota) was an American football tight end in the NFL for the Washington Redskins. He played college football for San Diego State University. , 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 CityXpress. "This financing is a strong endorsement of our strategy and position in the marketplace," Dubois said. "It gives us the resources to aggressively accelerate our growth over the coming years through strong strategic partnerships with Knight Ridder, the second largest newspaper company in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , and Lee Enterprises, a long-time investor in CityXpress and a leading publisher in mid-sized markets." Dubois said CityXpress is developing new initiatives to extend the company's market-leading auction platform into business-to-consumer verticals and continuous newspaper auctions. The company also will hire additional personnel to support North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. and international growth. "CityXpress has outperformed our expectations in quickly becoming the leading provider of newspaper online auctions," said Mike Petrak, vice president of marketing for Knight Ridder. "We look forward to partnering with the company to launch new auction platforms across our markets, benefiting both advertisers and consumers." Knight Ridder will take two seats on the CityXpress Board of Directors. Mike Petrak and Alice Wang, vice president of corporate development, will join board chairman Ken Spencer and board members Phil Dubois, Derek Mather, Greg Schermer and Greg Swanson. "Lee is pleased to be a full shareholder in CityXpress," said Greg Schermer, VP interactive media for Lee Enterprises. "This investment means that CityXpress can focus on growing the value it offers its clients. Over the past two years, CityXpress has generated over $46 million in revenue for newspapers. It is delivering significant revenue now for our industry with substantially more to come." Newspaper auctions are local events presented by newspapers in print and online. Advertisers provide goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. for an online auction promoted by a printed catalog within the newspaper. Newspapers receive cash from the winning bids and in return, advertisers whose products sell receive advertising credits within the newspaper. Each auction typically takes place over 10 days, generating bargains for bidders, new customers and increased store traffic for advertisers and new advertisers with incremental revenue for newspapers. Newspaper auctions are being adopted by increasing numbers of newspapers as an effective tool for generating alternative revenue sources. CityXpress staged its first auction in 2001, and has staged more than 200 event auctions for newspapers, generating more than $46 million for newspapers in the last two years. ABOUT CITYXPRESS CityXpress (www.cityxpress.com), the leading supplier of event auctions and online special sections for the newspaper industry, has pioneered event auctions for newspapers since 2001. CityXpress works with newspapers in the United States Newspapers have declined in their influence and penetration into American households over the years. The U.S. does not have a national paper per se, although the influential dailies the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are sold in most U.S. cities. , Canada and Europe to stage local auctions through its hosted software and on-site sales and customer support services support services Psychology Non-health care-related ancillary services–eg, transportation, financial aid, support groups, homemaker services, respite services, and other services . The company currently provides services to newspaper companies including Knight Ridder, MediaNews Group Not to be confused with Media General, an unrelated newspaper and TV group. MediaNews Group, based in Denver, Colorado, is one of the largest newspaper companies in the United States. , Cox Enterprises Cox Enterprises is the successor to the publishing company founded in Dayton, Ohio, by James Middleton Cox, who began with the Dayton Daily News. The company is private, 98% controlled by the octogenarian daughter of Cox, Anne Cox Chambers, and the two children of her late , McClatchy, CanWest Global, Lee Enterprises, Scripps Howard, Freedom Newspapers, the 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 Times Company and the Northcliffe Newspaper Group. CityXpress is headquartered in Vancouver BC, with offices in Seattle, Tampa and Fort Walton Beach Fort Walton Beach, city (1990 pop. 21,471), Okaloosa co., NW Fla., on the Gulf of Mexico; inc. 1941. It is a year-round beach and fishing resort east of Pensacola. Electronic equipment and small boats are made, and military aircraft are modified here. Fla., and Winnipeg MB. In 2004, CityXpress announced a strategic relationship with Knight Ridder, the nation's second largest newspaper publisher, to be the exclusive provider of online auctions for its newspapers. ABOUT KNIGHT RIDDER Knight Ridder (NYSE:KRI) is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with products in print and online. The company publishes 31 daily newspapers in 28 U.S. markets, with a readership of 8.7 million daily and 12.6 million Sunday. Knight Ridder also has investments in a variety of Internet and technology companies and two newsprint companies. The company's Internet operation, Knight Ridder Digital, develops and manages the company's online properties. It is the founder and operator of Real Cities (www.RealCities.com), the largest national network of city and regional Web sites in more than 100 U.S. markets. Knight Ridder and Knight Ridder Digital are headquartered in San Jose, Calif. ABOUT LEE ENTERPRISES Lee Enterprises is based in Davenport, Iowa, and is the premier publisher of daily newspapers in midsize markets. Lee owns 38 daily newspapers and a joint interest in six others, along with associated online services. Lee also publishes nearly 200 weekly newspapers, shoppers and classified and specialty publications. Lee stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. under the symbol LEE. More information about Lee Enterprises is available at www.lee.net. This press release and/or communication contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company's business strategy and future plans of operations. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as will, expect, intends, believe, anticipates should and words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, such as the Company's capital requirements Capital requirements Financing required for the operation of a business, composed of long-term and working capital plus fixed assets. and other liquidity concerns, fluctuations in demand for newspaper auctions and for the Company's other products, competitions, technological developments, and other risks and factors set forth from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other press releases and/or communications of the Company. These and other important factors may cause actual results and performance to differ materially from the further results expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release and/or communication speak only as of the date hereof based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and the Company does not assume, and expressly disclaims any obligation or duty to update, revise or amend any of the information presented herein. |
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