National Discount Brokers and Go2Net Enter Into Strategic Alliance
Vulcan Ventures Inc. and Go2Net to Invest Up To $30 Million in National Discount Brokers
February 7, 2000 08:08 AM
NEW YORK and SEATTLE, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- National Discount Brokers Corporation/ndb.com, a leading online brokerage and financial services company (http://www.ndb.com/) and subsidiary of National Discount Brokers Group, Inc. NDB and Go2Net, Inc. GNET , one of the Internet's leading networks (http://www.go2net.com/), today announced a three-year agreement establishing NDB.com as the exclusive integrated brokerage service for the Go2Net Network, including Silicon Investor (http://www.siliconinvestor.com), the Web's premier financial discussion and information site.
In addition, Go2Net will develop and license to NDB.com a co-branded version of the Silicon Investor financial discussion boards to enable NDB.com's more than 200,000 account holders to view and post messages within NDB.com. As part of the agreement, Vulcan Ventures Incorporated, the investment organization of Paul G. Allen, and Go2Net have agreed to purchase up to one million shares of common stock of from National Discount Brokers Group, Inc.
NDB.com is consistently recognized as one of the Internet's leading brokerages, having received highest overall ratings from Barron's and Money magazine, as well as a listing as one of the Internet's 100 hottest companies by Business 2.0 magazine.
The agreement establishes Silicon Investor as the first online financial discussion site with complete, integrated brokerage capabilities, complementing Silicon Investor's industry-leading community, financial research, analytics, and original editorial content offerings. It also sets the stage for Silicon Investor to extend its community membership, through the development of a co-branded Silicon Investor discussion forum for National Discount Brokers' more than 200,000 account holders.
In the coming months, Silicon Investor's more than 250,000 active members and National Discount Brokers' account holders will experience seamless integration between Silicon Investor's discussion threads and National Discount Brokers' investment site. This will allow both Silicon Investor members and NDB account holders to more easily access an array of real-time financial resources and investing tools.
Under the agreement, Go2Net will receive an annual minimum payment of $7.5 million from NDB.com during the three-year term, of which the third year is cancelable, if Go2Net fails to achieve certain performance goals, in exchange for NDB.com being the exclusive integrated brokerage service for the Go2Net Network and Go2Net's development and license of the Silicon Investor discussion boards to NDB.com. Today's agreement also includes a significant marketing and promotion component, in which NDB.com will be prominently featured throughout the Go2Net Network and Silicon Investor.
Vulcan Ventures and Go2Net will purchase 500,000 shares of common stock of National Discount Brokers Group at a purchase price of $27 per share and warrants to purchase an additional 500,000 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $33 per share. As part of the agreement, Go2Net Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Russell C. Horowitz will join the National Discount Brokers Group Board of Directors.
"Today marks a historic agreement for National Discount Brokers. It provides us with access to the robust Go2Net Network, and in particular, the sophisticated membership base of Silicon Investor. NDB and Silicon Investor represent a solid fit and we look forward to working with what is widely acknowledged as the Internet's leading provider of financial discussions and information," said Dennis Marino, Chairman of National Discount Brokers Corporation. "The agreement also serves as an important endorsement of NDB and our business strategy by Vulcan Ventures, which will allow us to take advantage of new opportunities and possibly expand our services into areas such as broadband."
"This is an important agreement on many levels, as National Discount Brokers is exceptionally well positioned to not only meet the needs of Silicon Investor's membership, but to excel in an online marketplace that demands high levels of quality brokerage services," said Russell C. Horowitz, Go2Net Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We're looking forward to working closely with them to leverage the many opportunities ahead."
William Savoy, president of Vulcan Ventures Incorporated, added: "We're pleased to add National Discount Brokers Group to the Vulcan portfolio of companies and look forward to the possibilities of extending the NDB.com brokerage services to broadband customers through Broadband Partners, Inc."
Silicon Investor was recently relaunched, integrating the original editorial and research content of Go2Net's StockSite -- and IQC's charting and analytics services -- with a new graphical interface for the site, along with improved navigation schemes throughout its discussion threads and services. Go2Net acquired Silicon Investor in 1998 and has since established the site as an integral part of the Go2Net Network.
About National Discount Brokers Group, Inc.
Headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, National Discount Brokers Group, Inc., a S&P Small Cap 600 Index company, is the parent company of two financial services entities: National Discount Brokers Corporation/ndb.com and Sherwood Securities. National Discount Brokers at November 30, 1999 had 178,400 customer accounts, with assets of $8.9 billion. Sherwood Securities' main operations are as a market maker in approximately 4,500 Nasdaq and other OTC securities. The Company has offices in Jersey City, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver and Boston. Customers can access National Discount Brokers Corporation/ndb.com at ndb.com, via the PowerBroker automated touch-tone telephone system 800-631-8884 or by calling 800-4-1-PRICE.
Statements made in this press release constitute forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "should" or similar expressions. It should be understood that these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.
About Go2Net, Inc.
Go2Net (http://www.go2net.com/) is one of the Internet's leading networks, providing consumer services, business services, and enabling services. The company offers through the World Wide Web a network of branded properties and aggregated content in the categories of search and directory, personal finance, multi-player games, small business services and ecommerce solutions. The company also develops Internet technologies for its own network and for license to strategic partners. The Go2Net Network is home to many of the Internet's leading vertical destinations, including: MetaCrawler, Silicon Investor, the HyperMart Network, PlaySite, Dogpile and 100hot.
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, sponsorship and commerce 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 into new platforms, such as broadband, 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, 1999, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For information, contact Mark S. Peterson, Director of Public Relations, mark@go2net.com, or John Ruljancich, Investor Relations Manager, johnr@go2net.com, both of Go2Net, Inc., 206-447-1595; or Rich Tauberman of The MWW Group, 201-507-9500, rtauberman@mww.com, for National Discount Brokers Group, Inc.; or Rafael H. Yaghoutiel, Vice President, Investor Relations, 201-536-6830, ir@ndbgroup.com, or Frank E. Lawatsch, Jr., Executive Vice President and General Counsel, 201-946-4482, flawatsch@ndbgroup.com, both of National Discount Brokers Group, Inc.
SOURCE Go2Net, Inc.
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