To: Rande Is who wrote (1624 ) 1/4/1999 2:16:00 PM From: Bucky Katt Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 57584
Read this, about the S/I parent>>GO2NET ACQUIRES WEB21 Adding Profitable Web Ranking Company To The Go2Net Network; 100hot.com Web Index Bolsters Go2Net Portal 01/04/99 -- SEATTLE, WA -- Go2Net, Inc. (Nasdaq: GNET) (http://www.go2net.com), a network of technology- and community-driven Web sites, announced that it has acquired Web21 (http://www.100hot.com), the first online service to establish a category-by-category ranking of Internet sites. Founded in May 1995, Web21 adds a profitable business to the Go2Net Network with its 100hot.com index, which identifies and ranks the top 100 Web sites in such categories as technology, entertainment, business, shopping, lifestyle, games, sports and news. The acquisition was made for approximately $13.5 million in stock. "Web21 is a solid fit for Go2Net, bringing a valuable index and more than one million unique visitors per month to the Go2Net Network, along with positive revenue streams from a loyal base of advertisers and business partners," said Russell C. Horowitz, Go2Net chief executive officer. "Go2Net will work to maintain 100hot.com's position as the destination of choice for Web users interested in where their peers on the Internet are going." Web21 compiles its listings based on the analysis of log files from cache servers located at strategic points throughout the Internet. The 100hot.com rankings enable Web users to find the most popular sites on the Internet as a whole, or within each of the 100hot.com categories. "Go2Net Network users, advertisers and partners will benefit from the addition of Web21, while 100hot.com users will notice the increased attention Go2Net plans to direct toward the index," Horowitz added. "In the months ahead, we will enhance 100hot.com and develop ways to offer strong value and cross-promotion opportunities for current Web21 and Go2Net advertising clients and business partners. This will also extend across the individual sites that comprise the Go2Net Network." "We believe tremendous synergies exist between 100hot.com and the Go2Net Network," said Bert Fornaciari, Web21 founder and president. "Go2Net has established itself as home to many of the Internet's premier brands and we're pleased to be joining the Go2Net Network." Terms of Acquisition: The acquisition is valued at approximately $13.5 million in Go2Net stock and is being accounted for as a pooling of interests. The transaction closed on December 31, 1998. Under terms of the acquisition, Go2Net will issue approximately 385,000 of its common shares in exchange for all outstanding securities of Web21, which will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Go2Net. Web21 will remain based in Palo Alto, CA and company founder Bert Fornaciari will continue to serve as president of Web21. About Web21 Web21 is the first company to use Internet activity data gathered from multiple sources to rank the world's most popular World Wide Web sites. The company also provides 100hot InSite research services (for corporations and organizations interested in tracking the popularity of their own Web sites or those of their competitors), 100hot search and the newly introduced 100hot surfboard and advertising service, which automatically adds bookmarks to users' browsers. About Go2Net, Inc. Go2Net (http://www.go2net.com) is a network of branded, technology- and community-driven Web sites focused on the following categories: personal finance, search, commerce, and games. The company also develops Web-related software. The Go2Net Network's properties include: Silicon Investor (http://www.siliconinvestor.com), the Web's premier financial discussion site; StockSite (http://www.stocksite.com), which offers proprietary articles, portfolio tracking tools, company research and news relating to business and finance; MetaCrawler (http://www.metacrawler.com), a metasearch service that combines various existing search/index guides into one service; HyperMart (http://www.hypermart.net), the Web's leading provider of free business hosting services; WebMarket (http://www.webmarket.com), a one-stop comparison shopping service; and PlaySite (http://www.playsite.com), a Java-based multi- player online 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. GNET is building real value here. Very smart people...