Rare Medium Group Inc. Acquires LiveUniverse.com; First Step in Creating Network of Affiliates and Web Portals
NEW YORK, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Rare Medium Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: RRRR),
raremedium.com, the award-winning Internet solutions firm responsible for
producing some of the Internet's most highly acclaimed Web sites, Intranets and
Extranets, announced today the acquisition of community and entertainment network
LiveUniverse.com. This acquisition is the first step in a plan designed to build and
roll-up a broad array of free e-services for web masters, consumers, and corporations to
create a network with significantly increased traffic levels under the LiveUniverse
umbrella. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
This is the first deal Rare Medium Group (RMGI) has announced since signing a letter
of intent last week with Apollo Management under which affiliates of Apollo plan to
invest $75 million of equity into Rare Medium. That transaction is intended to transform
Rare Medium into a one-stop provider of venture capital, Internet solutions and
professional services.
"This is a very exciting acquisition and one that we believe will begin to demonstrate
the value RMGI can create for our shareholders and our entrepreneur-partners by providing
an integrated package of Internet strategy, development expertise, technology and
capital," said Glenn Meyers, Chairman, President, and CEO of Rare Medium Group, Inc.
"This acquisition is just the beginning. RMGI plans to acquire other complementary sites
and services to roll into LiveUniverse, as well as creating or acquiring other platforms
for investing in and incubating other great Internet ideas."
LiveUniverse.com seeks to provide web masters and home page builders with all of the
services that the major portals offer -- for free. "We believe traffic and interest on
the web will move from the sterile lookalike mega-portals to millions of individual
micro-portals which provide all of the same services -- but tailored to a particular
community or interest group ... portals with soul," said Seth Tapper, President of
LiveUniverse.com. "We believe RMGI's expertise and support will enable us to
significantly accelerate our growth."
Rare Medium's strategy is to build out the suite of available free e-services,
LiveUniverse.com will include community tools such as Chat and message boards, e-commerce
service such as auctions and catalogs and entertaining content such as games, polls, news
feeds and more. LiveUniverse, which currently has over 40,000 web sites on its network,
was created in June 1998. RMGI's investment is the first venture capital it has
received.
Rare Medium Group Inc. (Nasdaq: RRRR) is an Internet professional services firm,
helping clients develop E-Commerce Internet strategies, improve business processes, and
develop marketing, communications, branding, strategies, and interactive content using
Internet-based technologies and solutions. Rare Medium develops Internet and Web-based
solutions primarily for Fortune 500 Corporations including: Microsoft, The New York
Times, Epson, General Mills, CS First Boston, Pfizer, Hotel Reservation Network, and The
Federal Reserve Bank. The Company is headquartered in New York City and has offices
throughout the United States.
Except for historical matters contained herein, the matters discussed in this press
release are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that these
forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve risks and
uncertainties that may affect Rare Medium Group Inc.'s (Nasdaq: RRRR), and its
subsidiaries' business and prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from
these forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to
differ are Rare Medium's limited operating history; competition; low barriers to entry;
reliance on strategic relationships; rapid technological changes; inability to complete
transactions on favorable terms and those risks discussed in the Company's filings with
the SEC.
/CONTACT: Glenn S. Meyers, Chairman, President & CEO of Rare Medium Group, Inc.,
212-634-6950, glenn@raremedium.com; or Seth Tapper, President of LiveUniverse.com,
212-634-6950, setht@raremedium.com; Josh Pekarsky or Molly Morse of Kekst and Company,
212-521-4800, for Rare Medium Group/
13:30 EDT
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