Lycos Europe Raises $649 Million in Initial Public Offering; Lycos, Inc. Stake Valued at $2.2 Billion.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 23, 2000

Lycos Leads International Portal Race with 65 Sites

in 25 Countries Around the World

Lycos, Inc. (Nasdaq:LCOS) the Internet's leading multi-brand network, today announced that Lycos Europe, its European joint venture with Bertelsmann, successfully completed its initial public offering yesterday, raising $649 million. As of the close of market on March 22, Lycos Europe is valued at more than $5 billion after its listing on the Neuer Markt in Germany.

"Lycos's international strategy of partnering with local leaders in markets around the globe has allowed the company to quickly deliver high-quality local sites," said Bob Davis, president and CEO of Lycos, Inc. "Our European IPO is another key milestone in our ongoing globalization strategy, and we expect Europe to be just the first step in the unveiling of these assets to our shareholders," added Davis.

Through its joint venture globalization strategy, Lycos has created a dominant international presence and enjoys a significant lead among all portals with 65 sites in 25 countries around the world, adding 38 sites during the last 12 months alone. By forming joint ventures with world-class local companies, Lycos continues to focus on its core expertise in Internet services, while being able to quickly develop quality local content and culture-specific services that appeal to the local consumer. The Lycos joint venture strategy fuels the growth of the business and brand through the rapid deployment of localized sites, the globalization of the Lycos brand and the proliferation of the Lycos multi-brand network overseas. Local joint venture partners also foster local business relationships for commerce, advertising and content resulting in hundreds of Lycos local alliances around the globe.

Lycos provides local sites in its target markets with the basic services it offers in the U.S., including World Wide Web search and navigation, community and commerce capabilities, and the expertise of key employees on loan to the joint ventures. Each portal site contains significant local content and is presented in the principal language of the local market. The sites also operate with the Lycos Network brand names and comply with Lycos Network brand standards creating a global image for Lycos.

In addition to its Lycos Europe joint venture with Bertelsmann, Lycos has established world-class joint ventures in Japan, Korea, Singapore and Canada; and also operates sites in Latin America.

--  Lycos Japan --

    --  Formed in April 1998

    --  Joint venture partners: Sumitomo Corporation, Internet
        Initiative Japan and Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co.

    --  Sumitomo Corporation is one of the world's leading traders and
        distributors of goods and services and one of the largest
        corporations in Japan

    --  Currently operates three network sites, Lycos, Tripod and
        MailCity

--  Lycos Korea --

    --  Formed in March 1999

    --  Joint venture partner: Mirae Corporation

    --  Mirae is a prominent high-technology company in Korea

    --  Currently operates both Lycos and Tripod sites

    --  Tripod Korea has experienced remarkable growth since launch.
        Signing up 80,000 members in its first 10 days of operation,
        Tripod Korea now has 1.8 million registered members after just
        seven months

--  Lycos Asia --

    --  Formed in September 1999

    --  Joint venture partner: Singapore Telecom

    --  Singapore Telecom is Singapore's largest company in terms of
        market capitalization

    --  Plans to deliver localized sites in more than 10 Asia-Pacific
        countries, including China, India, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong
        Kong and Malaysia

    --  Currently operates network sites in Singapore, Malaysia and
        Hong Kong

--  Canada --

    --  Announced in February 2000

    --  Joint venture partner: Bell Canada

    --  Bell Canada, its telecom partners and subsidiaries provided
        services through 13.6 million access lines

    --  Currently operates the number one site in Canada

    --  Joint venture site to launch in May

--  Latin America --

    --  Launched in October 1999

    --  Lycos operates 14 localized sites in seven Latin American
        countries as well as two sites for the U.S. Hispanic
        population

In addition, Lycos leads in delivering Free ISP services around the world. Lycos recently launched a Free ISP service in the U.S. adding to existing services in Europe and Asia.

About Lycos, Inc.

Founded in 1995, Lycos, Inc. is a leading Web media company and owner of the Lycos Network, one of the most visited hubs on the Internet reaching nearly one out of every two U.S. Web users. The Lycos Network is a unified set of Web sites, attracting a diverse audience by offering a variety of services, including leading Web search and navigation resources; Web community and communications services including free homepage building, free Web-based e-mail, clubs, chat, instant messaging; a personalized My Lycos start page; a comprehensive shopping center featuring more than 2,400 merchants; and an assortment of compelling content such as games, music, news, fun and educational information and activities for kids as well as information about investing, technology, entertainment, sports, small business, travel and more. The Lycos Network is composed of Lycos.com, Tripod, WhoWhere, Angelfire, MailCity, HotBot, HotWired, Wired News, Webmonkey, Suck.com, Sonique, Quote, Gamesville and Lycos Zone. Headquartered near Boston in Waltham, Mass., Lycos, Inc. is a global Internet leader with a major presence throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, Latin America and Canada.

Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation: uncertainty as to the acceptance of the Internet as an attractive and sustainable medium; intense competition, uncertainty as to the acceptance of Lycos' products or services within the region, difficulties in staffing and managing international operations, protection of intellectual property rights, export restrictions and controls related to technology, compliance with regulatory requirements and changes to those requirements, political instability and fluctuations in currency rates. More information about potential factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements may be found under the heading "Factors Affecting the Company's Business, Operating Results and Financial Conditions" in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Note to Editors: Lycos(R)is a registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon University. All other product or service marks mentioned herein are those of Lycos or their respective owners. All rights reserved.