EXHIBIT 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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SHOPNOW.COM TO ACQUIRE UBARTER.COM, INC.
A BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS E-COMMERCE COMPANY WITH OVER
3800 BUSINESS MEMBERS
SHOPNOW.COM POSITIONS ITSELF TO BECOME GLOBAL LEADER IN BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS
BARTER SERVICES
SEATTLE, WA, DECEMBER 21, 1999 - ShopNow.com Inc. (Nasdaq: SPNW), a leading
e-commerce enabling company for business-to-business and
business-to-consumer, today announced the execution of a letter of intent to
acquire Ubarter.com, Inc. (OTC BB: UBTR), a business-to-business barter
e-commerce company that deployed the Internet's first on-line
business-to-business barter exchange e-commerce site. The acquisition, which
is expected to close in early 2000, signifies an expansion of ShopNow.com
into additional business-to-business e-commerce services. ShopNow.com has
agreed to acquire Ubarter.com for approximately $45 million in stock based on
recent stock prices.
Founded in 1996, Ubarter.com has had tremendous growth with over 3800
business members with over 7000 product and service listings. Transaction
volume grew 645 percent in the month of November year over last year.
Ubarter.com oversees the transaction process for businesses, merchants, media
companies and other corporate businesses seeking to maximize efficiencies
through business-to-business online bartering, including managing sales of
business assets, excess inventory, surplus production, or services for other
needed products and services.
Examples of recent exchanges between Ubarter.com clients utilizing Ubarter
Dollars include:
- - A radio station used Ubarter.com to purchase $100,000 of real estate from
another member of Ubarter.com. In exchange, the seller of the real estate
purchased construction services and advertising from other members.
- - A television station exchanged unsold advertising space for various
expenses relating to a conference for its employees.
- - A hotel used Ubarter.com to sell unsold rooms to other Ubarter members.
The hotel then purchased printing services, bottled water and janitorial
services.
"Over 80% of the revenues for ShopNow.com now come from businesses. The
proposed acquisition of a business exchange like Ubarter.com will allow us to
grow our business-to-business revenues more rapidly. Online exchanges provide
the perfect platform to
trade goods and services on a global scale," said Dwayne Walker, Chairman and
CEO of ShopNow.com. "We will continue to aggressively expand our offerings
to our business and merchant partners and take a leadership role in providing
all the services and products needed to successfully transact commerce on the
Web."
"Joining the ShopNow Network will rapidly expand the barter opportunities we
currently offer," said Steven White, president and CEO of Ubarter.com.
"ShopNow.com has over 40,000 businesses and merchants with which it is
already affiliated and core expertise in what it takes to run an e-commerce
business. Adding business-to-business barter services is the logical
next-step in e-commerce."
After the closing, ShopNow.com will be in a position to become a market
leader in business-to-business barter exchange. Ubarter.com currently offers
business-to-business barter exchange for:
Advertising and promotions Apparel and accessories
Art and collectibles Automotive, boat and motorcycles
Business and office Computer products and services
Construction and renovation Electronics and communication
Entertainment and recreation Financial services
Food and beverages Health care
Household Personal care
Real estate Sports and fitness
Travel and transportation Miscellaneous
ABOUT UBARTER.COM
Ubarter.com is a business-to-business e-commerce company utilizing the Ubarter
Dollar-TM- as payment for products and services. Ubarter.com manages
transactions where retail, professional, media and other corporate businesses
seek to maximize efficiencies by accepting Ubarter Dollars-TM- for excess
inventory, surplus production or services on a multilateral basis for other
needed goods and services.
Ubarter.com's purpose is to increase business sales and maximize cash flow
for its members, by facilitating trade among businesses in an efficient,
easy-to-use and cost-effective way. Ubarter.com is based in Seattle,
Washington.
ABOUT SHOPNOW.COM INC.
ShopNow.com Inc. is a leading e-commerce enabling company for
business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-commerce. ShopNow.com
operates an e-commerce network known as the ShopNow Network, which is
comprised of online access to over 40,000 businesses and over 6 million
shoppers. The ShopNow.com portal (http://www.shopnow.com) is an online
marketplace for connecting buyers and sellers worldwide and provides a range
of business-to-business e-commerce products and services. ShopNow.com Inc. is
headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with additional offices in Georgia,
Arizona, Kansas and California.
The merger will be subject to customary conditions, including the execution
of a definitive merger agreement, the satisfaction of regulatory approvals,
and the approval of the shareholders of Ubarter.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this announcement, including statements concerning our
plans, intentions and expectations, contain "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended. Forward-looking
statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the time
the statements are made and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated
in the forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "intend,"
"anticipate," variations of such words and similar expressions identify
forward-looking statements but their absence does not mean that the statement
is not forward-looking. These statements are not guaranties of future
performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions
that are difficult to predict. Readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date
of this announcement. Factors that could affect our actual results, include,
among others, the factors described in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended September 30, 1999. We undertake no obligation to update
publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or
circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
PRESS CONTACTS:
Howard Barokas, Barokas Public Relations, (206) 264-8220, howard@barokas.com
Hannah Coan, ShopNow.com Inc., (206) 223-1996, hannahc@shopnow.com
INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS:
Christina Carrabino (general information)
Chris Wood (analyst contact)
Steve Morrison (media)
(415) 986-1591
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