Capt, OFFICE DEPOT announcement is great news. RTQ 37 1/2.
This is a great release and goes beyond the "fluff" PR's put out by many IPO's. For those who have not reviewed it, we have included it below.
PPRO is now trading at 37 1/2 on 215,000 in the first 30 minutes. Looks like the Office Depot news is enough to shrug-off the IBM news.
Susan, the next two days may provide a good test of the $40 level. Still too early to tell but early indications are good on a day when techs are facing weakness.
Glad we have joined you for the ride here.
Regards,
AGORA
agoracom.com
Office Depot Selects PurchasePro.com as E-Commerce Solution Provider and Makes Equity Investment in PurchasePro.com
Office Depot & PurchasePro.com Will Create B2B E-Marketplace for Businesses
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. and LAS VEGAS, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE: ODP - news), the world's largest
seller of office supplies, and PurchasePro.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPRO - news), a leading provider of business-to-business e-commerce solutions, today announced that they have entered into a strategic e-business relationship which includes an equity investment by Office Depot in PurchasePro.com.
Under terms of the agreement, PurchasePro.com will be the recommended Web based business-to-business e-commerce solution to be mass marketed to the millions of
Office Depot customers and clients. Office Depot will be featured as the exclusive preferred provider in the PurchasePro.com B2B e-marketplace. The two companies
will jointly create the largest e-marketplace targeting small and medium-sized businesses. Office Depot and PurchasePro.com will share in the multiple revenue
opportunities including transaction fees, subscriptions, and advertising.
The PurchasePro.com business-to-business e-commerce solution will be marketed in more than 800 Office Depot superstores; offered by the sales force of Office Depot's Business Service Division, which services corporate America. PurchasePro.com will be advertised prominently on Office Depot's award winning U.S. public Web site (www.officedepot.com), as well as in catalogs, direct mail pieces, and other advertising material. The national roll-out will be coordinated through Office
Depot's retail outlets. The two companies have also agreed to conduct the first, national e-commerce seminar campaign aimed at small and medium sized businesses. Details of the seminars will be announced shortly.
Charles E. Johnson, Jr., CEO of PurchasePro.com said, ``Office Depot is the ideal partner to fulfill our commitment to help small and medium sized companies embrace
e-commerce. By marketing out of Office Depot retail stores, we will be able to reach the small business market with a web based, low cost, value added e-commerce solution. The PurchasePro.com e-Marketplace will provide Office Depot customers with a solution to source, bid, buy, advertise and sell; plus a full suite of reports provide information that will enable owners to run their businesses more efficiently. We intend to be the dominant e-commerce solution provider for growing businesses.'
According to Cahners In-stat Group, there are more than 10 million small businesses in the U.S., which represent 98% of all U.S. employers. These growing businesses are rapidly embracing the Internet, evidenced by the fact that approximately 75% have Internet access. This figure is expected to increase to approximately 85% by 2002. American small businesses generate the third largest economy in the world. Forrester Research predicts that small and medium sized businesses will account for 67% of the $1.3 trillion in intercompany trade of hard goods over the Internet by 2003.
Office Depot is the first office products supplier to offer its customers access to a complete e-commerce solution. ``Our goal is to create a dynamic marketplace where
Office Depot customers can buy and sell goods and services from each other. We at Office Depot believe that the PurchasePro.com e-marketplace is the only full
functionality solution available today that is Web-based, easy to use, and affordable for small and medium sized businesses,' says David I. Fuente, Chairman and CEO of
Office Depot.
Bob Schmidt, Vice President of American Hotel Register, a member of the PurchasePro.com e-marketplace, says that, ``It has opened the potential of e-commerce to my company. We are particularly excited by the access to potential buyers nationwide.'
Office Depot currently owns 500,000 shares of PurchasePro.com's stock, including 400,000 shares purchased in the Company's initial public offering in September 1999.
Office Depot holds warrants and other rights to acquire up to an additional 600,000 shares in the Company.
About PurchasePro.com
PurchasePro.com, Inc. is a leading provider of Internet business-to-business electronic commerce services. The company's e-commerce solution is comprised of public
and private ``e-marketplaces' where businesses can buy and sell a wide range of products and services in an efficient, competitive and cost-effective manner.
PurchasePro.com members report a substantial and rapid return on investment (ROI). Its target customers are primarily small to medium sized businesses. The
company has designed its e-marketplaces to meet the needs of these customers and their large business partners.
Current strategic sales and marketing relationships include a recently announced strategic distribution partnership with Ariba, as well as previously announced
partnerships with VerticalNet, Zoomtown.com (a Cincinnati Bell subsidiary), the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and the American Association of Franchisees
and Dealers.
It is providing services to develop and maintain public e-marketplace for members including Bellagio, Mirage, Carnival Cruise Lines, MGM Grand, Mission Industries,
Park Place Entertainment (formerly Hilton Gaming) and the Phoenix Suns. It also provides private e-marketplaces for Building One Services, Best Western International
and Prime Hospitality. For more information, call toll free at 888-830-4600 or in Las Vegas at 702-316-7000. You can also access PurchasePro.com, Inc. at its Web
site, www.purchasepro.com.
About Office Depot
Office Depot, Inc., currently operates 821 superstores in the United States, Canada, France, Japan, as well as a national business-to-business delivery network that
includes more than 60 local sales offices, 30 delivery centers and seven national Call Centers. In addition, Office Depot customers can order products 24-7 by phone
(888-GO-DEPOT), by fax (800-685-5010) or online via the Company's award-winning U.S. pubic Web site, (www.officedepot.com). Office Depot and its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Viking Office Products, currently have operations in 19 countries on four continents.
Office Depot's sales for the first nine months of 1999 were $7.54 billion, a 13% increase over the $6.70 billion reported for the same period in 1998. The Company's total
sales for 1998 were $9.0 billion, an 11% increase over the $8.1 billion in sales during 1997. Office Depot's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index and the Fortune Global 500.
This press release includes forward-looking statements which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties associated with
rapidly changing technologies such as the Internet, the risks of technology development and the risks of competition. Actual results could differ materially. For more
information about these risks and uncertainties, see the SEC filings of Office Depot and PurchasePro.com, Inc.
SOURCE: PurchasePro.com, Inc. |
