Coinstar to Pursue Sale of Meals.com Subsidiary.

Business Editors

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 18, 2001

Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) today announced it is taking steps to regain 100 percent control of its Meals.com subsidiary in preparation for the sale of Meals product lines and an orderly exit from the business.

Coinstar is seeking an agreement with Meals' minority stockholders. If accepted, Coinstar would purchase all outstanding Meals.com securities (including preferred stock and warrants) held by the minority stockholders in exchange for 52,656 shares of Coinstar common stock. There would be a number of conditions to the consummation of this arrangement.

"Regaining 100 percent control of Meals will allow Coinstar to simplify and expedite the sale of Meals product lines and assets," said Diane Renihan, chief financial officer of Coinstar. "We are making this decision now to ensure a smooth transition for our retail partners."

This decision was made, in large part, because recent efforts to seek additional financing for Meals have not been successful.

"Meals has developed compelling products that have demonstrated the ability to increase sales and profits for supermarkets and consumer packaged good brands," said John Melin, general manager of Meals. "However, the success of the products has not been able to overcome the difficult financing climate for start-up companies."

Coinstar plans to retain a core group of Meals employees who will ensure the viability and salability of Meals' assets. Those employees will also enable a smooth transition in services for Meals' retail partners, packaged goods manufacturers, Internet companies, and vendors. Coinstar anticipates that the Meals network of branded and private label Web sites, as well as Meals' Shopper in-store kiosk, will remain operational for the foreseeable future.

Coinstar currently expects any costs associated with the orderly divestiture of the business to be paid out of Meals' existing cash balance.

In all, 30 Meals employees will be laid-off as of June 20. All of those employees will receive a package that includes separation pay and outplacement counseling.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties relating to the business of Coinstar and its majority-owned subsidiary Meals.com, including statements about the expected sale of Meals' assets, the future viability of those assets, the smooth transition of services for Meals' customers, vendors and others, and the sufficiency of Meals' cash balances to cover wind-down costs. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," variations on such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that any other statement is not forward-looking. Actual results could differ materially from the results identified or implied in any forward-looking statement discussed herein. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, uncertainties about the consummation of an agreement with Meals' minority stockholders and the possible sale of Meals' assets, unanticipated difficulties encountered in operating Meals' business during the wind-down process while Coinstar attempts to find a buyer for Meals' assets, and unanticipated variations in the actual costs of winding Meals down. Certain of these risks and other risks are more fully described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.