Tuesday June 22, 10:03 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Net Value Holdings Announces Merger with Strategicus Partners --
Launches Ecommerce Business
Incubator
PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 22, l999--Net Value Holdings (OTC BB:NETV - news), a publicly-traded Philadelphia-based company announced today the execution of a merger agreement with Strategicus Partners, a Beaverton, Oregon-based developer of early-stage web and
technology companies.
Under the terms of the transaction, the Strategicus shareholders will acquire up to 40% of the presently issued and outstanding capital stock of Net Value Holdings over a period of up to 30 months.
Included in this agreement is Net Value's acquisition of a majority of Metacat.com, a web-based aggregator of printed catalog products and previously a Strategicus subsidiary. Also included in the transaction are agreements in principle to make minority investments in several Bay-area ecommerce companies. These include: Asia CD, Inc. (www.asiacd.com), a leading Asian community ecommerce company; and College411.com, Inc. (www.college411.com), a college student portal.The company expects to make these investments in July.
Upon closure of the transaction, Strategicus' current shareholders will join the Board of Net Value and the following additions will be made to the Net Value management team: Douglas Spink, President and founder of Strategicus, will serve as Chief Technology Officer of Net Value. Barry Uphoff, previously COO of Strategicus, will become President and CEO of Net Value. Darr Aley, formerly VP for Business Development of Lycos, will become Executive VP of Business Development.
According to Andrew Panzo, Chairman of Net Value Holdings, ''We have assembled a formidable management team and are laying the foundation for a dynamic and nimble Internet business incubator built expressly to aid early stage companies in times of rapid growth. Our team of proven Internet entrepreneurs will bring a powerful network of relationships, diverse skills, and significant experience to assist not only Brightstreet.com, our majority-owned subsidiary, but other web-based companies in assembling all the necessary ingredients to win decisively on the web. At core, we are strong believers in the future of the Internet and the digital economy.''
Barry Uphoff has developed a national reputation for excellence in helping companies to develop and implement business strategies for the digital age. ''The Internet age has just begun. Using the automobile industry as an analogy, we are at the point in time when cars were started manually by cranks. There is still a lot of progress to be made. The management team coming together as part of this transaction creates a firm that will play a catalytic role in helping start-up and early development web-based companies to become not just first movers, but most important, fast finishers, observes Uphoff. ''It takes a real focus on building teams, creating operational excellence, and managing
process in areas as diverse as brand development, sales, marketing, logistics management, and technology to succeed on the web. There are no short-cuts to long-term success.''
Darr Aley, formerly a shareholder of Strategicus, joins Net Value as EVP of Business Development. Previously, Mr. Aley served as VP of Business Development of Lycos (Nasdaq:LCOS - news). He brings with him extensive Internet experience in strategic relationship development, early stage venture management, and partnership relations.
Stephen George, who is joining the Board of Net Value, was previously a vice president at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in their San Francisco office. He has a broad range of expertise in investment banking,
financial management and Internet businesses. He is also the founder of Xchanges.com, Inc., a business to business ecommerce start-up.
Net Value is a majority owner of Brightstreet.com, Inc. Based in San Francisco, Brightstreet has been a pioneer in the development and distribution of on-line promotional campaigns since 1993.
With 14 employees and a third-generation technology currently in production, Brightstreet is poised to lead the web promotions space.
Net Value Holdings is a business incubator primarily engaged in the seminal conception and ongoing nurturing of the next wave of web pioneers. Net Value's operating strategy is to develop its portfolio
of companies into a collaborative network that leverages its collective financial, intellectual, and relationship capital. With the Strategicus acquisition, Net Value will have offices in San Francisco,
Portland, and Philadelphia.
The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and is expected to close within 45 days.
This release contains certain forward-looking statements regarding potential future events and developments affecting the business of Net Value Holdings, Inc. These forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, or other factors not under Net Value Holdings
control which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of these companies to be
materially different from the future results, performance, achievements or other expectations
expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Merus Partners
Gail Meredith, 503/538-7624
gail@nvholdings.com |
