KENNEDY-WILSON INC. TO FORM A JOINT VENTURE WITH
ONLINE BUSINESS DEVELOPER GUIDANCE SOLUTIONS
Plans to Advance New Online Product "eKWIC.com"
Beverly Hills, Calif. (April. 26, 1999) -- Kennedy-Wilson Inc. (Nasdaq NM:KWIC), an international real estate services company with more than $6 billion in completed real estate brokerage and auction sales, announced today that it has signed a binding letter of intent to form a joint venture with Guidance Solutions Inc.(http://www.guidance.com), a full-service provider of comprehensive strategic
Internet services. Guidance Solutions has served the systems integration needs forsuch corporations as Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Taco Bell, Boeing, Goodyear
and Airtouch Cellular.
Earlier this year, Kennedy-Wilson announced plans to go online with
"eKWIC.com," a comprehensive Internet real estate marketing and auctionservice. By joining forces with an experienced online business developer such asGuidance Solutions, Kennedy-Wilson plans to leverage Guidance's technical andcreative core capabilities and capture business opportunities resulting from therapidly expanding Internet community. Guidance Solutions has a proven track
record in launching online businesses for such clients as Venator Group, Inc. (FootLocker, Champs Sports, Eastbay), E-Nutrition, Celebrity Sightings and BandaiEntertainment, among others. Now, Guidance and Kennedy-Wilson plan to leadthe way in establishing the premiere real estate marketing and auction site.
"Taking our expertise online is a natural progression for Kennedy-Wilson," saidChairman and CEO William J. McMorrow. "We believe the eKWIC.comservice will transform the real estate buying and selling process by making it moreefficient and accessible than ever before."
Guidance Solutions will build a customized, database driven and commerce enabledonline application for eKWIC.com that will provide the foundation for this uniquetechnological system. Additionally, eKWIC.com plans to utilize Guidance'sinnovative marketing and strategic planning services to further execute a profitable
Internet business solution.
Kennedy-Wilson and Guidance Solutions expect that the eKWIC.com InternetReal Estate Marketing and Auction System will host major real estate offerings ofcommercial and residential properties both nationally and internationally.
"Guidance Solutions seeks traditional business partners in order to leverage ourjoint assets into successful online ventures. We are thrilled to team withKennedy-Wilson to build the leading online real estate business solution," saidRobert Landes, CEO of Guidance Solutions.
"We believe the traditional assets of Kennedy-Wilson, coupled with Guidance'sexperience building online businesses, will be a winning partnership in the virtualmarketplace," added Landes.
On the commercial side, the e.KWIC.com service will provide potential
investors with access to regional, national and international properties. On theresidential side, buyers should find homes that range from entry levelcondominiums to multi-million dollar estate homes. "It's not surprising thatKennedy-Wilson, which has been a pioneer in the real estate auction business, isdeveloping an Internet real estate marketing and auction system such as
eKWIC.com," saidMr. McMorrow. "As business becomes ever more technologically complex, webelieve that innovations such as this will help Kennedy-Wilson maintain a strongcompetitive advantage now and into the new millennium."
Founded in 1977, Kennedy-Wilson provides real estate investment sales, propertymanagement, technical and leasing services, construction management,development and acquisition services worldwide throughout its offices in BeverlyHills, Sunnyvale, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Tokyo andHong Kong.
Guidance Solutions is a leading online business developer headquartered in Marinadel Rey, CA. Founded in 1993, the privately owned company develops strategic
online business solutions and has more than 80 employees. |
