Rare Medium Group Inc. Leads $9 Million Investment Round In StreamSearch.com - ''The Remote Control of the Web''; Rare Medium's Internet Solutions Arm Will Develop Web Site
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 1999--Rare Ventures, the investment arm of Rare Medium Group Inc. (Nasdaq:RRRR), announced it has invested $4 million in StreamSearch.com., the multimedia Internet company based in St. Louis, MO. Rare Medium Inc., the Internet services unit, has entered into a multi-million dollar engagement to provide the backend web development for StreamSearch.com.
StreamSearch is a global audio and visual search engine that offers live events, full-length motion pictures, sports, weather, entertainment news and pay-per-view events on the Internet.
Two other venture capital investors, Brentwood Ventures and Advantage Capital, participated in the $9 million round of funding.
"The investment in StreamSearch.com has great synergies with our current portfolio of companies in streaming media," said Glenn S. Meyers, president, chairman and chief executive officer of Rare Medium Group Inc. "This investment also adds value to StreamSearch with our broadband competency center in San Francisco."
"This is a very exciting time for us," said Rob Shambro, founder and chief executive officer of StreamSearch. "RareVenture's investment allows us to create a scalable technology platform to support unlimited traffic on our site, round out our management team and create a super star board of directors that will take us to the next stage of growth and bring in high level, strategic investors."
According to Meyers, Rare Medium is making big plays in streaming media and broad band, providing development services for a diverse set of next-generation Internet companies. Rare Medium Group's broad multimedia strategy includes investments in www.liveuniverse.com, www.iface.com, www.changemusic.com, www.atomicpop.com and, www.regards.com
Rare Ventures, is responsible for making venture and incubator investments. With its deep knowledge of Internet business and access to proprietary deal flow through relationships with its clients, top-tier venture capital firms and Apollo, Rare Ventures has the ability to identify and add significant value to the next generation of blockbuster Internet companies including: L90, a leading provider of comprehensive online advertising and direct marketing solutions for advertisers and Web publishers; iParty.com, an Internet-based merchant of party goods, party related services and party-planning advice; and SmartOnline.com, a leading provider of Web-hosted business productivity applications and information resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs. All of these portfolio companies have entered into strategic professional service agreements with Rare Medium's Internet Solutions arm and are estimated to be in excess of $10 million.
About Rare Medium Inc.
Rare Medium Inc., www.raremedium.com, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rare Medium Group Inc., is an Internet solutions firm that helps clients develop E-commerce Internet strategies, improve business processes, develop marketing communications, branding strategies and interactive content using Internet-based technologies and solutions. Rare Medium develops Internet- and web-based solutions primarily for large and medium-sized corporations, including Microsoft, The New York Times, Merrill Lynch, Intel, Epson and Hotel Reservation Network, among other leading companies.
About Rare Medium Group Inc.
The mission of Rare Medium Group is to incubate paradigm-shifting ideas and build the next wave of blockbuster companies by leveraging its award-winning Internet development arm, Rare Medium Inc. Companies currently in development include: www.liveuniverse.com, a "Micro-Portal Enabler" with more than 100,000 web sites in its network; www.iface.com, a "VoIP" company, "Voice Enabling" the Internet; www.changemusic.com, a company at the vanguard of the digital music revolution - using the Internet to find, promote and distribute the best new music first; and, www.regards.com, an online greeting card and viral marketing company. Rare Medium Group Inc. employs approximately 400 Internet professionals and is headquartered in New York with additional offices throughout the United States, Canada and abroad.
Except for historical matters contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that may affect Rare Medium Group Inc. (Nasdaq:RRRR), and its subsidiaries' business and prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ are Rare Medium's limited operating history; competition; low barriers to entry; reliance on strategic relationships; rapid technological changes; inability to complete transactions on favorable terms and those risks discussed in the company's filings with the SEC. |
