FSACF--(Up major today)First South Africa Corp. to Acquire 81% Stake in Leisure Planet,
Leading Internet-based Global
Travel Agency
Investment Is Company's First Outside of South Africa and First in an
Internet-Related Business
MIAMI/JOHANNESBURG, South Africa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 1999--
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 - news) 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 - news) and Lycos Bertelsmann GmbH & Co. KG, a joint venture between Lycos,
Inc. (Nasdaq: LCOS - news) 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 |
