Hoover's, Inc. Announces Stock Buyback
AUSTIN, Texas, Dec 21, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
Hoover's, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOV chart, msgs), a leading provider of online business information, tools, and content integration and syndication technology, today announced that its board of directors has approved a buyback of up to 10 percent of the outstanding shares of its common stock from time to time in open market transactions, subject to general market conditions and the price of its ordinary shares.
Hoover's CFO Lynn Atchison said the share repurchases are to be made when prices and market conditions are considered favorable to Hoover's, and in accordance with the appropriate SEC guidelines and regulations. Currently, Hoover's has approximately 15.5 million shares outstanding.
Patrick Spain, Hoover's Chairman and CEO stated, "We simply cannot pass up the opportunity to purchase shares that are trading at a substantial discount to book and cash value. We feel our stock is grossly undervalued, and this decision to repurchase shares reflects our trust in the strength of Hoover's and the fact that we have capital significantly in excess of that needed to meet our operating needs until we reach profitability."
"Hoover's has been unfairly lumped in with all the dot-coms that never had a business model and are running out of cash. Hoover's has been in business for 10 years and has several times in the past proven the success of its business model. We remain confident that the Hoover's business model of multiple recurring revenue streams from subscriptions, licensing and advertising/e-commerce, all of which are derived from proprietary content and technology, will bring us to profitability in the near future."
"Hoover's uses the Internet as a marketing and delivery mechanism to deliver advertiser-supported and paid content to companies and businesspeople. There is no shortage of people willing to pay for Hoover's services," said Spain. "In November alone we signed up more than 400 new enterprise subscribers, a record number. That is evidence of our continued focus to reach serious businesspeople with our paid services."
"As of September 30, 2000, we had $42 million of cash, $2.70 per share. Our current capital is more than sufficient to meet our foreseeable needs," Spain continued. "The company has reiterated its June 30, 2001, target date for EBITDA profitability, announced during our previous quarterly conference call. Hoover's estimates that it will use approximately $8 million of the cash on hand as of September 30 in operations (exclusive of capital expenditures and buybacks, for which amounts have yet to be determined) prior to June 30, 2001, leaving the company with an ample cash balance at that time."
About Hoover's, Inc.
Hoover's, Inc. provides online business information, tools, and content integration and syndication technology to help businesspeople get their jobs done. Hoover's information is available through the company's destination sites Hoover's Online and Hoover's Online U.K. (http://www.hoovers.com and hoovers.co.uk), through syndication and co-branding agreements with more than 30 other online services, and through customized applications developed for enterprise information portals, corporate intranets and business-to-business vertical and content sites. Hoover's investors include Time Warner (NYSE: TWX chart, msgs), Media General (Amex: MEG.A chart, msgs), NBC -- a unit of General Electric (NYSE: GE chart, msgs), and Knowledge Universe, through its Knowledge Net Holdings and Nextera Enterprises (Nasdaq: NXRA chart, msgs) units. Hoover's is headquartered in Austin, TX, and has offices in Linthicum, MD; London; New York City; Reston, VA; and San Francisco.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events or results that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the company's financial condition and cash balances and estimated date of EBITDA profitability. Among the important factors which could cause actual results of Hoover's to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are slower growth in our various revenue streams, particularly in the sale of enterprise subscriptions, market conditions affecting the sale of online advertising, competition, economic conditions specific to the Internet, as well as general economic and market conditions and other factors described in Hoover's reports and documents filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its prospectus and recent 10-K and 10-Q filings. |
