SportsLine USA, Inc. Acquires Online Retailer TennisDirect.com
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- SportsLine USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLN - news), the leading global Internet sports media company, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of TennisDirect.com, a privately held Internet retailer that sells tennis equipment, apparel and accessories worldwide through its web site (www.tennisdirect.com). The acquisition will allow SportsLine users to select from a complete line of approximately 10,000 tennis products alongside SportsLine's already extensive assortment of sports merchandise and memorabilia. The market for tennis products exceeded $1 billion in 1998, according to the National Sporting Goods Association.
The consideration for the acquisition was $1.5 million, consisting of $770,000 of SportsLine USA common stock, and the remainder a combination of cash and assumed debt. SportsLine USA also agreed to issue additional common stock, valued at up to $900,000 to TennisDirect.com shareholders if certain revenue targets are met over the next two years. TennisDirect.com will be operated as a subsidiary of SportsLine by Greg and Chris Backus, co-founders of TennisDirect.com. The operations will be located within SportsLine's Fort Lauderdale offices.
The addition of TennisDirect.com will enhance SportsLine's ability to leverage its existing strategic relationships, including SportsLine's promotion on CBS Sports tennis broadcasts and the contextual promotion of tennis merchandise on Internet coverage of the U.S. Open and other tennis events via CBS SportsLine.com, and the sports sites of AOL, Netscape, Infospace and Excite.
''We expect the addition of TennisDirect.com to the SportsLine e-commerce family to enable us to become the leader in the online tennis retailing space,'' said Michael Levy, president and CEO of SportsLine USA, Inc. ''TennisDirect.com offers excellent customer service as well as the best selection on name-brand tennis products available anywhere, ensuring that tennis fans will have greater access to the top equipment and accessories on the Internet. This acquisition further demonstrates SportsLine's commitment to expanding our merchandise offerings and growing our e-commerce business.''
About TennisDirect.com
TennisDirect.com, based in Troy, Michigan, is an electronic mail order tennis store that offers approximately 10,000 items, including fine tennis racquets, shoes, bags, ball machines, videos, books, training equipment, health and fitness aids, clothing, accessories and gift items through its Web site (www.tennisdirect.com) and catalog. TennisDirect.com was founded in 1989 and has a database of more than 600,000 customers worldwide.
About SportsLine USA, Inc.
SportsLine USA, Inc. is at the leading edge of media companies, providing Internet sports content, community and e-commerce on a global basis. SportsLine USA's content includes more than 400,000 pages of multimedia sports information, entertainment and merchandise. SportsLine USA was founded in 1994 and its flagship Internet sports service (www.sportsline.com) was renamed CBS SportsLine in March of 1997 as part of an exclusive promotional and content agreement with CBS Sports. SportsLine USA produces the official league Web sites for Major League Baseball, the PGA TOUR and NFL Europe League, and serves as the primary sports content provider for America Online, Netscape and Excite. In May 1999, the Company commenced operations in Europe through its majority-owned subsidiary, SportsLine Europe Limited.
Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties. SportsLine USA's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, among others, competitive pressures, the growth rate of the Internet, constantly changing technology and market acceptance of the company's products and services. Investors are also directed to consider the other risks and uncertainties discussed in SportsLine USA's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including those discussed under the caption ''Risk Factors That May Affect Future Results'' in SportsLine USA's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K. SportsLine USA undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
SOURCE: SportsLine USA, Inc.
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