FSACF--NEWS! First South Africa Corp. to Acquire 81%
Stake in Leisure Planet, Leading
Internet-based Global Travel Agency
Business Wire - February 24, 1999 12:24
MIAMI/JOHANNESBURG, South Africa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24,
1999--
Investment Is Company's First Outside of South Africa
and First in an Internet-Related Business
Leisure Planet Enters Into Long-Term Agreements to Serve as
Major Travel Partner for Yahoo! and Lycos Bertelsmann
First South Africa Corp., Ltd. (Nasdaq: FSACF) today announced that it has
acquired 81% of Leisure Planet (www.leisureplanet.com), of London and
Cape Town, a leading Internet-based global travel agency, from Twine Media
Ltd., a subsidiary of Rembrandt Group, Ltd., a major South Africa-based
conglomerate. First South Africa acquired its stake through an injection of
capital into Leisure Planet. Financial terms of the transaction were not
disclosed.
In a related development, First South Africa also announced today that
Leisure Planet has entered into agreements with the French and German
subsidiaries of Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Lycos Bertelsmann GmbH
& Co. KG, a joint venture between Lycos, Inc. (Nasdaq: LCOS) and
Bertelsmann. Leisure Planet will be the exclusive hotel and air travel services
provider to Yahoo! in Germany and France. The Lycos Bertelsmann portal
agreement extends for three years and makes Leisure Planet the exclusive
travel partner for the Lycos Bertelsmann travel web guide in 14 major
European markets. The launch in these markets is expected to begin within the
next 90 days. It is expected that these business relationships will create
important revenue streams for Leisure Planet, which in turn could be a major
growth catalyst for First South Africa.
Founded in 1995, Leisure Planet is a full-service online travel agency with the
world's largest image-rich hotel database; flight, car and hotel reservation
facilities; and comprehensive proprietary travel guides for more than 175 travel
destinations. Leisure Planet is one of the few web-based travel service that
specializes in travel to and from destinations outside of the United States.
Leisure Planet has over 35,000 hotels on its service. An outstanding feature of
Leisure Planet's web site is that visitors can view a comprehensive selection of
photos of more than 12,200 hotels, enabling visitors to "look before they
book." The Leisure Planet web site also has comprehensive information on
more than 8,000 independent hotels not listed on any other web site.
Clive Kabatznik, Chief Executive Officer of First South Africa, said: "This
investment in Leisure Planet represents a major new strategic direction for our
company. This is the first time that we have invested in a company doing
business outside of South Africa and our first investment in any Internet-related
business - much less one with as much upside potential as Leisure Planet. As
such, this investment positions us to greatly enhance our growth prospects and,
in turn, to build value for our shareholders."
Mr. Kabatznik continued: "Leisure Planet utilizes a business model similar to
that of its competitors: Expedia, Travelocity and Preview Travel. Leisure
Planet, however, is the first and currently the only pan-European web-based
travel resource. As such, Leisure Planet customers will benefit from its
business relationships with content and fulfillment partners throughout Europe,
from the several languages featured on the Leisure Planet web site, and from
Leisure Planet's international customer service function. Most importantly,
Leisure Planet's new partnerships with Yahoo! and Lycos Bertelsmann will
help it build a market position that we regard as an outstanding business
opportunity.
"The growth rate of Internet usage in Europe currently outpaces that of the
United States and we believe that Leisure Planet's position as the travel
partner with Yahoo! and Lycos in major European markets establishes it as a
leading player in this exciting area," Mr. Kabatznik concluded.
Leisure Planet is a global Internet travel agency. For consumers, Leisure
Planet operates a full-service leisure travel site - www.leisureplanet.com which
provides on-line flight, car and hotel booking facilities, and excellent travel
guides for over 170 countries or regions. By providing integration of its virtual
travel agency service, Leisure Planet also licenses its content and technology to
selected Internet sites. To date, Leisure Planet's expanding group of
high-profile distribution sites includes infospace.com (USA), itravel.com.au
(Australia), virtualoutlet.com (USA), thetrip.com (USA), resfeber.com
(Sweden), rejsefeber.dk (Denmark), reisefeber.com (Norway), lycosuk.co.uk
(UK), planetoasis.com (USA), mweb.co.za (South Africa) and lycos.de
(Germany). This pool of Internet distribution positions Leisure Planet as the
premier global Internet distribution partner for hotels.
Rembrandt Group, Ltd., which will continue to hold approximately 19 percent
of Leisure Planet, is a multinational company with a market value of more than
US$4 billion.
First South Africa Corp., Ltd. is a publicly traded investment company that
acquires, owns and operates middle-market companies primarily based in
South Africa. The company's holdings include businesses in various industries,
including value-added convenience foods and leisure products.
The company may seek shareholder approval at its upcoming annual meeting
to change its name to reflect the change in its investment focus. The company's
South African investments will be focused on its stake in Johannesburg Stock
Exchange-listed First Lifestyle Holdings, the value of which will be readily
available through the market price of its shares.
The statements which are not historical facts contained in this press release are
forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties,
including but not limited to risks associated with the uncertainty of future
financial results, additional financing requirements, development of new
products, regulatory approval processes, the impact of competitive products
or pricing, technological changes, the effect of economic conditions and other
uncertainties detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
CONTACT: First South Africa, Miami
Rebecca Freeman
(305) 857-5009
or
Kekst and Company, New York
Roy Winnick or Mark Semer
212-521-4842 or 4802
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