Nice little +15 pt break-out today, hehe.. it's "movin on up" to the East Side! LOL! NEWS:
GMAC and Homestore.com Announce a $20 Million, Multi-Year Marketing and
E-Commerce Alliance
HORSHAM, Pa. and THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Nov 08, 1999 (BUSINESS WIRE)
--
Nov. 8, 1999
Residential Units of Financial Services Giant Team Up
with Largest Online Home and Real Estate Portal To
Provide Online Consumer Services in Real Estate,
Relocation and Home Finance
GMAC Mortgage and its sister company GMAC Homes Services, both part
of the GMAC Financial Services organization, together with
Homestore.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:HOMS), the leading destination on the
Internet for home and real estate information, today announced they
have entered into a marketing and e-commerce alliance of up to three
years. The contract, with a value to Homestore.com(TM) of $20 million
and up to $30 million over the term of the agreement, will allow GMAC
to expand its online services in real estate, relocation and home
finance.
Under the agreement, Homestore.com(TM) will provide web-based services
to support GMAC's real estate network and retail mortgage operations.
In addition, GMAC and its home services-related affiliates will secure
a variety of advertising placements for their real estate and home
finance products on Homestore.com(TM) family of web sites.
"This agreement sets the stage for GMAC to leverage technology and will
greatly help us achieve our e-commerce delivery goals for comprehensive
real estate services," said Mike O'Brien, chairman of GMAC Home
Services.
"The powerful combination of GMAC's business opportunities and
Homestore.com's position as the nation's leading Internet portal for
home and real estate information will create an excellent partnership
environment," O'Brien continued.
O'Brien says that the alliance will expand and enhance the content and
capabilities of GMAC's growing family of web-based e-commerce real
estate services.
"Our focus is on creating a unified customer experience regardless of
how the customer enters our organization -- through the purchase or
sale of real estate, a corporate relocation or seeking personal
assistance with complex financial decisions," O'Brien said.
"We are very pleased to have GMAC as a strategic partner, and we feel
confident we can help expand and improve the services GMAC Home
Services offers to their associates and customers," said Stuart Wolff,
chief executive officer of Homestore.com(TM). "GMAC is a strong player
in the financial services industry with interests across all categories
of real estate, and this relationship strengthens Homestore.com's
position as the most fully integrated web-based resource, for both real
estate professionals and consumers, in the life cycle of the home."
GMAC Home Services Background GMAC's growth into home related services
began in 1985 with the addition of mortgage services. The company began
expansion of the initiative when GMAC Home Services was founded in June
of 1998. GMAC has created a presence in real estate brokerage services,
broker network services and relocation services. The newly re-named
GMAC Real Estate division (formerly the Better Homes and Gardens Real
Estate Network) is comprised of both the national franchise network and
company-owned real estate brokerage companies, with more than 1,450
offices and 24,000 agents. GMAC Home Services has provided services to
more than 2 million customers this year.
Homestore.com(TM) Background Homestore.com(TM) (Nasdaq: HOMS) has the
largest family of home and real estate related web sites with more than
2 million unique users each month. The family of web sites include
REALTOR.com(R), the official Internet site of the National Association
of Realtors, featuring approximately 1.36 million existing and new home
listings and real estate agent and broker services;
HomeBuilder.com(TM), the official new home site of the National
Association of Home Builders, offering more than 120,000 models,
available new homes and plans from over 15,000 builders;
SpringStreet.com(TM), providing consumers interested in renting a home
with 6.9 million rental units in over 6000 cities; Remodel.com(TM),
meeting home improvement and maintenance needs for both consumers and
remodeling professionals; CommercialSource.com(TM), providing
commercial real estate brokers access to national and international
commercial property listings; and Homefair.com(TM), providing consumers
with the leading moving and relocation site on the Internet.
This press release contains forward-looking information within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to
the safe harbors created by those sections. Actual results may differ
materially. The matters discussed in this press release also involve
risks and uncertainties described from time to time in Homestore.com,
Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In
particular, see "Risk Factors" in the Final Prospectus included in the
Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1 declared effective by the
SEC on August 4, 1999 (www.sec.gov).
Copyright (C) 1999 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
Distributed via COMTEX.
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CONTACT: Media Contacts:
Homestore.com(TM)
Jeff Charney, 805/557-2300
jeff.charney@homestore.com
or
GMAC Home Services
Kathryn Morris, 516/797-8483
kathryn@kmorrispr.com
or
For Financial Contacts:
Homestore.com(TM)
DeLise Keim, 805/557-2599
delise.keim@homestore.com |
