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(COMTEX) B: INFONAUTICS, INC. AND BELL & HOWELL COMPANY ANNOUNCE PLAN
B: INFONAUTICS, INC. AND BELL & HOWELL COMPANY ANNOUNCE PLAN TO CREATE NEW
EDUCATION COMPANY INFONAUTICS RECEIVES SUBSTANTIAL CASH INFUSION TO Pursue
Internet Strategy
WAYNE, Pa., Jul 8, 1999 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Infonautics, Inc.
(Nasdaq: INFO) and Bell & Howell Company (NYSE: BHW) today announced
that they have signed a definitive agreement to create a new,
as-yet-to-be-named company that will combine both firms' K-12 reference
businesses.
Infonautics will contribute its school and library Electric Library(R)
business and will receive 27 percent of the new company. Bell & Howell
will own the balance of the new entity and also will assume ownership
of Infonautics' e-commerce online archive business. In connection with
the transaction, Infonautics will receive $22 million in cash.
Infonautics will continue to develop and market its suite of Sleuth
services and will retain rights to market Electric Library to
consumers.
The board of directors of the new company, to be based in Wayne,
PA,will be made up of 8 directors, six of which will be designated by
Bell & Howell and two by Infonautics. To provide for a smooth
transition, Van Morris, CEO and President of Infonautics, will also be
CEO of the new company. Bell & Howell Chairman and CEO, Jim Roemer,
will serve as Chairman of the Boardof the new company.
"This transaction brings real clarity to our business," said Van Morris
of Infonautics. "We believe it provides Infonautics with the capital
necessary to fully develop our Sleuth business and to market Electric
Library to individual users over the Web. In addition, by combining our
school and library business with Bell & Howell's K-12 business, we
create a newentity with greater revenues, stronger capabilities and
more significant reachinto the educational community."
Infonautics launched its first Sleuth service, Company Sleuth(TM), late
last year. Since then more than 200,000 people have registered for the
free business information service. In May the company launched Job
Sleuth(TM) a free service that searches the Internet's top job sites
and databases for opportunities that match its users' profiles. The
company has announced that it plans to launch its next Sleuth service,
Sports Sleuth(TM), later this quarter. "The transaction with Bell &
Howell provides Infonautics with the financial resources necessary to
execute our Internet strategy," said Morris. "Ultimately we believe
there will be considerable value inaggregating multiple Sleuth sites
into a personal Sleuth portal."
Morris said Infonautics will benefit from the combination of its K-12
business with that of Bell & Howell Information and Learning into the
new company. "We're immensely proud of what we achieved in the school
market," said Morris. "In just two and a half years we grew that
business from a standing start to a licensed base of more than 15,000
schools and libraries. Now, by combining that business with Bell &
Howell's, we will produce a powerful market leader that can be truly
innovative in meeting the needs ofan under-served school community,"
said Morris. "While we've converted someof that value into cash,
Infonautics shareholders also will share in thenew entity's future
success."
The company noted that completion of the transaction is subject to
certain conditions including shareholder and regulatory approval.
The company will have a conference call Friday Morning, July 9th, 1999,
at 8:30 a.m. ET. The call will be available on the Internet through
V-call at vcall.com. To listen to the call, please go to the
v-call web site at least fifteen minutes early to register, download,
and install any necessary audio software. For those who cannot listen
to the livebroadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the
call.
ABOUT BELL & HOWELL Bell & Howell Company (NYSE: BHW), headquartered in
Skokie, Ill., isa leading information solutions and services provider
to industries worldwide. In each of its businesses, the company
transforms information through software and services, helping its
customers operate more effectively and efficiently. Additional
information on Bell & Howell Company can be found at
bellhowell.com.
Bell & Howell Information and Learning collects, organizes and
distributes information worldwide to researchers, faculty, and students
in libraries and schools. Users access periodicals, newspapers,
dissertations, out-of-print books, and other scholarly information from
more than 8,000 publishers worldwide through ProQuest(R), Bell &
Howell's Web-based online information system, and with UMI(R) microform
and print reference products. For more information about Bell & Howell
Information and Learning, call 800-521-0600 (U.S. and Canada) or
734-761-4700, or visit bellhowell.infolearning.com.
ABOUT INFONAUTICS Infonautics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INFO) is a pioneering
provider of Internet information services to schools, libraries,
consumers and businesses. The Infonautics Network of web properties
includes the award-winning Company Sleuth, Electric Library, Job
Sleuth, Encyclopedia.com and Researchpaper.com. Company Sleuth
(http://companysleuth.com) is the Internet's leading source of free,
legal, inside information about publicly traded companies andhas
recently been selected by PC Magazine as one of the "Top 100 Web Sites"
on the Internet. Electric Library was the first reference service of
its type on the Internet, and today is one of the fastest growing
electronic reference products for schools and libraries, serving more
than 15,000 institutions in all 50 states. Electric Library is also one
of the largest paidsubscription sites on the Web with more than 75,000
paying subscribers. The Company also provides e-commerce online archive
services to major publishers andother content creators. Infonautics was
founded in November 1992, and is headquartered in Wayne, PA.
INFONAUTICS and ELECTRIC LIBRARY are registered trademarks of
Infonautics, Inc. or its subsidiaries. COMPANY SLEUTH, JOB SLEUTH,
SPORTS SLEUTH, ENCYCLOPEDIA.COM and RESEARCHPAPER.COM are trademarks of
Infonautics, Inc.or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks and service
marks are the properties of their respective owners.
This news release contains, in addition to historical information,
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These
forward-looking statements include statements regarding the completion
and approval of the definitive agreement and the transactions related
to it,the sufficiency of capital raised and used, the development and
success ofthe Company's Sleuth businesses and Electric Library
businesses, future businesses and services, the Company's equity
interests in the new company and the value of the new company. Such
statements are based on management's current expectations and are
subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those described in the forward-
looking statements. More information about potential factors which
could affect the Company's financial results is included in the Risk
Factors sections of the Company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements included in this
document are based on information available to the company as of the
date of this document, andthe company assumes no obligation to update
any such forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Infonautics, Inc.
(C) 1999 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.
prnewswire.com -0-
CONTACT: Van Morris, 610-902-8800, or vmorris@infonautics.com,
or Bob
Wright, 610-225-6356, or bwright@infonautics.com, both
of Infonautics
WEB PAGE: companysleuth.com
bellhowell.infolearning.com
bellhowell.com
infonautics.com
GEOGRAPHY: Pennsylvania
Illinois
INDUSTRY CODE: CPR
MLM
EDU
SUBJECT CODE: JVN
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