Since I didn't see it posted...here is the dog sh!t - I mean pile news. Sorry if it's a repeat.
Wednesday August 4, 4:15 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Go2Net, Inc.
Go2Net acquires Dogpile, LLC for $55 million
Go2Net Now Owns Internet's Two Largest Metasearch Services
SEATTLE, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Go2Net, Inc. (Nasdaq: GNET - news), a network of branded, technology- and community-driven Web sites, today announced that is has acquired Dogpile, LLC, operators of the popular Dogpile ( dogpile.com ) metasearch service, for $55 million in Go2Net stock and cash. Effective immediately, the transaction brings Go2Net a profitable business and one of the two most popular metasearch services on the Internet, with the other being Go2Net's MetaCrawler ( metacrawler.com ).
The agreement also brings Dogpile's proprietary search technologies to Go2Net, which will be leveraged across the Go2Net Network in such places as its HyperMart ( hypermart.net ) and Virtual Avenue ( virtualave.net ) free business hosting services, which host a total of more than 420,000 member businesses, and on the Haggle Online ( haggle.com ) auction service. The search technologies will be deployed to allow users the ability to search for specific businesses or business categories on HyperMart and Virtual Avenue, as well as specific products on Haggle Online. According to the Media Metrix Web measurement service, Dogpile.com received approximately 2.3 million unique visitors during the month of June 1999, the same time period in which the Go2Net Network separately entered the Internet's Top 10 destinations for the first time.
''Go2Net's acquisition of Dogpile strengthens our position as the Internet's leader in the metasearch category, while adding a significant and growing base of users to the Go2Net Network,'' said Russell C. Horowitz, Go2Net Chief Executive Officer. ''Dogpile's profitable business and its core technologies are key additions, bringing Go2Net greater leverage with our business, by virtue of the enhanced revenue opportunities that will accompany the integration of Dogpile's specialized search offerings.''
Metasearch services such as Dogpile and MetaCrawler enable Internet users to simultaneously query multiple individual search engines, presenting simple, comprehensive lists of results. According to a national study published in July's issue of the scientific journal Nature, individual search engines are challenged to keep pace with the accelerating growth of the World Wide Web, while metasearch sites can provide more than twice the effective coverage of the best performing individual services.
''Dogpile and Go2Net share a long-standing appreciation for the value of providing comprehensive metasearch services to Internet users, which makes this transaction a particularly solid fit,'' said Aaron Flin, Dogpile President and CEO. ''We're looking forward to working with Go2Net to extend the scope and nature of Dogpile's offerings and to becoming an integral part of the Go2Net Network.''
Terms of the transaction
Effective immediately, Go2Net acquires Dogpile, LLC for a combined total of $55 million, consisting of $40 million in Go2Net stock and $15 million cash. This purchase price is subject to increase, based on Dogpile's achievement of certain performance milestones over the next 18 months.
About Dogpile, LLC:
Dogpile, LLC is the operator of ( dogpile.com ), a metasearch service that integrates several medium and large Web search and index guides into a single service. It also provides a single launching point for stock quotes, usenet articles, weather forecasts, yellow pages and more.
About Go2Net, Inc.
Go2Net is a network of branded, technology- and community-driven Web sites focused on the following categories: personal finance, search and directory, commerce and business services, and games. The company also develops Web-related software. The Go2Net Network's properties include: Go2Net Personal ( go2net.com ), which provides users with a comprehensive Internet start page offering customizable news, discussion, and stock information, as well as direct access to Go2Net's own finance, search, free Web hosting, shopping and Java multiplayer game sites; Silicon Investor ( siliconinvestor.com ), the Web's premier financial discussion site; StockSite ( stocksite.com ), which offers proprietary articles, portfolio tracking tools, company research and news relating to business and finance; MetaCrawler ( metacrawler.com ), a metasearch service that combines various existing search/index guides into one service; 100hot ( 100hot.com ), a leading directory of the Web's most popular sites; HyperMart ( hypermart.net ), the Web's leading provider of free business hosting services; Authorize.Net ( authorize.net ), the Internet's leading payment authorization service; Haggle Online ( haggle.com ), one of the Web's premier person-to-person auction services; WebMarket ( webmarket.com ), a one-stop comparison shopping service; and PlaySite ( playsite.com ), the Web's premier Java-based multi-player games site. The company's Go2Net Labs division develops innovative technologies to enhance the features and functionality of the Go2Net sites and for licensing to other Internet companies.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the company's ability to grow its user and advertiser base. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the company's limited operating history, the competitive environment in which the company competes, the early stage of the Web as an advertising and electronic commerce medium, the company's dependence on advertising and sponsorship revenues, the company's dependence on strategic relationships to drive traffic to its Web sites, consumer acceptance of the company's new products and services, the company's ability to develop and integrate new technologies and services into its existing services, and the increased use of the Web for commerce. More information about the potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 1998 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended December 31, 1998 and March 31, 1999, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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