DealTime and Epinions Successfully Complete Merger, Delivering The Smart Way to Shop the Web.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers 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 & BRISBANE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 13, 2003 The 'New DealTime' Integrates and Extends the Internet's Premier Consumer Review and Ratings Content; Marks Merger with Beta Launch of Epinions Merchant Surveys DealTime(R), the leading shopping search engine, today announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Epinions(R), the premier online consumer reviews and ratings platform. The merger unites two proven business models with GAAP GAAP See: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP See generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). profitable operations, and, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Nielsen//NetRatings, the combined brands rank as the fifth largest online shopping destination in the US, attracting 11.1 million unique visitors A count of how many different people access a Web site. For example, if a user leaves and comes back to the site five times during the measurement period, that person is counted as one unique visitor, but would count as five "user sessions. in March 2003.(1) The combined entity is known as DealTime Ltd. and continues to operate www.dealtime.com, www.epinions.com, www.shopping.com and www.dealtime.co.uk as well as the many co-branded network sites it runs on behalf of search engines, portals and Internet service providers Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. . The merger integration brings more than one million consumer reviews and ratings together with advanced search technology and easy-to-use shopping tools to help shoppers make smart buying decisions. "We are very pleased to have successfully integrated the Epinions team. We have rapidly deployed Epinions' trusted consumer reviews and ratings across our network while making thousands of additional merchants accessible to Epinions' users," said Dan Ciporin, 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. and chairman of DealTime. "We are delivering on our mission to help consumers become smart shoppers while offering merchants a superior means of customer acquisition." DealTime marked the closing of the merger with the beta launch of its new Epinions Merchant Survey program. The program enables merchants to get real-time feedback by offering consumers short surveys and is a natural extension of the trusted consumer content Epinions delivers across all aspects of shopping. The surveys are integrated on the merchants' sites and allow consumers to rate their experience and make suggestions immediately following the completion of a sale. Participating merchants can customize the surveys to gather input on specific aspects of their shopping or purchasing process Purchasing Purchasing is the formal process of buying goods and services. The Purchasing Process can vary from one organization to another but there are some key elements that are common throughout The process usually starts with a 'Demand' or requirements . Detailed consumer reviews and ratings have proven to help increase conversion-to-sale ratios for participating merchants. "The rapid launch of our Epinions Merchant Survey program demonstrates the commitment and dedication of our newly combined teams," said Nirav Tolia, DealTime's COO and Epinions co-founder. "More than 300 merchants have joined the program, eager to gain access to essential customer feedback while increasing awareness of their quality, selection and service." As consumers continue to discover the power of the Internet to help them compare prices, product features and merchant reputations, online merchants are finding shopping search engines to be the most effective way to attract qualified buyers that convert into sales. "The Epinions Merchant surveys are generating a high rate of response, which we attribute to the surveys' customizable content and short length," said Bryan Lewis Bryan Lewis (b. Alliston, Ontario) is a Canadian municipal politician and a former referee and Director of Officiating for the National Hockey League. His first NHL experience was in the 1966-67 NHL season. , a long-standing DealTime customer as managing partner with FJA FJA Functional Job Analysis FJA Florida Justice Association (formerly Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers) FJA Feilmeier & Junker AG (German stock corporation) FJA Fellowship of Jewish Athletes Products (www.fjaproducts.com). "The real-time feedback is invaluable and we see this program as an important way to continue to increase our click-to-sale ratio." The Epinions Merchant Survey program is slated to launch officially in June. To enroll in the program, or for more information, please write to: surveys@dealtime.com. About DealTime DealTime is the world's leading shopping search engine and the fifth largest U.S. online shopping destination. Through its extensive network of branded and co-branded sites, including www.dealtime.com, www.epinions.com, www.shopping.com and www.dealtime.co.uk, the company receives more than 11 million monthly unique visitors, reaching 15 percent of US online shoppers, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. DealTime's uniquely helpful shopping service enables consumers to compare products, prices and merchants while using Epinions' trusted consumer reviews and ratings to make smart buying decisions. It's The Smart Way to Shop the Web(TM). The company is also a premier provider of targeted direct marketing services, connecting merchants and manufacturers with pre-qualified buyers and partnering with search engines, portals and service providers to effectively monetize Internet traffic Internet traffic is the flow of data around the Internet. It includes web traffic, which is the amount of that data that is related to the World Wide Web, along with the traffic from other major uses of the Internet, such as electronic mail and peer-to-peer networks. . DealTime was founded in 1998 and agreed to acquire Epinions, the Internet's premier consumer reviews and ratings platform, in March of 2003. DealTime Ltd. is privately-held and backed by key strategic and financial partners including August Capital, Bain Capital Bain Capital LLC is a Boston, Massachusetts-based private equity firm founded in 1984 by Mitt Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts, and two other partners from the consulting firm Bain & Company: T. Coleman Andrews III and Eric Kriss. , Benchmark Capital Benchmark Capital is a venture capital firm responsible for the early stage funding of some very successful startups, including eBay. In 1995, the firm invested $6.7 million in eBay, which became worth more than $5 billion by the spring of 1999 and resulted in one of Silicon , Bertelsmann, Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., or simply Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is one of the world's largest global investment banks. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street. , Israel Seed Partners and others. DealTime, DealTime.com, Epinions, Epinions.com and the DealTime and Epinions logos are registered trademarks of DealTime Ltd. and its subsidiaries. For more information about the merger of DealTime and Epinions please see: http://www.dealtime.com/dealtime2000/Pages/About/1,2751,36361,00.html. (1) Nielsen//NetRatings, March 2003. Ranking excludes travel sites. |
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