Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Stamps.com Media Contacts: iShip.com Media Contact:
Seth Oster Jessie Brumfiel
Sr. Director of Corporate Communications Brumfiel & Etienne
(310) 581-7542 (415) 241-7195
(310) 962-4117 (cell) (650) 766-9887 (cell)
soster@stamps.com jessie@brumet.com
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Ken McBride (Investor inquiries)
Sr. Director of Finance
(310) 582-7552
ir@stamps.com
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STAMPS.COM TO ACQUIRE iSHIP.COM TO CREATE LANDMARK INTERNET MAILING AND SHIPPING
SERVICE
Acquisition Will Give Small Business, Consumer and Enterprise Customers One-Stop
Convenience and Choice for All Mailing and Shipping Needs
Santa Monica, Calif. (October 25, 1999) - Stamps.com(TM) (Nasdaq: STMP), the
leader in Internet Postage(TM), today announced it has agreed to acquire
privately-held iShip.com, a leading provider of Internet-based shipping
technology. The acquisition will establish Stamps.com as the only online service
that will be able to offer small business, consumer and corporate enterprise
customers a single source for all their mailing and shipping needs.
The agreement will combine iShip.com's unique Web-based multi-carrier
shipping technology with Stamps.com's core Internet Postage service, providing
customers one-stop access to mailing, shipping and tracking services, as well as
label printing for such leading parcel carriers as the U.S. Postal Service and
United Parcel Service (UPS). The combined company will also enable carriers to
reach new customers. iShip.com's investors and strategic partners include Mail
Boxes Etc., eBay, Intel, venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson and UPS.
Under the terms of the agreement, Stamps.com will issue eight million
shares of Stamps.com common stock for all outstanding shares, options and
warrants of iShip.com. The acquisition, which will be accounted for under the
purchase method of accounting, values iShip.com at approximately $300 million,
based on the closing price of Stamps.com on October 22, 1999. The acquisition
has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is subject to
regulatory and shareholder approval from both companies.
"This acquisition will revolutionize the way mailing and shipping services
are offered," said Stamps.com CEO John Payne. "Eighty-five percent of all e-
commerce packages are shipped through the U.S. Postal Service and UPS. Anchored
by Stamps.com's
strong relationship with the U.S. Postal Service and iShip.com's historic
relationship with UPS, our new combined company is positioned to take advantage
of the rise in e-commerce shipments."
Stephen Teglovic, president and CEO of iShip.com, said: "This merger will
build a single marketplace on the Web for shipping and mailing services and
information, in a way that benefits both customers and carriers. Mailing and
shipping each amount to $60 billion dollar industries. As a combined company,
we will be able to double our market opportunity and provide the most
comprehensive service on the Internet to manage all mailing and shipping needs.
The complementary technology that Stamps.com and iShip.com bring together,
matched with strong management teams on both sides, will make this a great
partnership for the mailing and shipping industries."
Stamps.com is the only company approved by the U.S. Postal Service to
provide a truly Internet-based postage service. Stamps.com harnesses the power
of the Internet to allow customers to print postage any time of the day or night
using just a computer, printer and an Internet connection.
iShip.com was founded in 1997 by the same management team that built UPS
Online Professional, the world's most powerful shipping and tracking software.
The iShip.com technology allows customers to access multi-carrier shipping
choices and convenience, with package pricing, shipping, and tracking right from
the desktop. The iShip.com service includes online rate and service comparisons
including the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, Fed Ex and Airborne Express and the
ability to purchase and print labels online.
iShip.com's key strategic investors and partners include eBay, United
Parcel Service (UPS) and Mail Boxes Etc. Through its partnership with eBay,
iShip.com is the exclusive provider of online shipping services integrated into
eBay, for their more than 5.6 million registered users. iShip.com also has an
exclusive relationship with Mail Boxes Etc. to provide online shipping services
to Mail Boxes Etc.'s 3,300 domestic franchise locations. In turn, Mail Boxes
Etc. provides a brick-and-mortar network of retail centers to support
iShip.com's Small Office and Home Office and small business customers' shipping
needs.
About Stamps.com
Founded in 1996, Santa Monica-based Stamps.com is the only commercially approved
true Internet Postage service. The company's innovative technology eliminates
the need for specialized hardware by giving customers the flexibility to print
postage over the Internet - securely, accurately and fast. Through partnerships
with major companies including America Online, IBM, Microsoft, Office Depot,
Quicken.com and 3M, Stamps.com has tremendous reach into the small office/home
office and consumer markets. More information about the company can be found at
www.stamps.com.
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About iShip.com
iShip.com is an Internet services company bringing powerful, easy-to-use
Web-based shipping technology and services to the e-commerce marketplace, and to
businesses everywhere. iShip.com offers customers multi-carrier choice and
convenience, with package pricing, shipping and tracking right from the desktop.
iShip.com was founded in 1997, and is based in Bellevue, Washington. For more
information, visit www.iship.com.
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"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties. Important factors, including the Company's ability to
integrate acquired companies and its ability to meet future capital
requirements, could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements are detailed in filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, made from time to time by Stamps.com, including its Form
10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 1999, and Stamps.com's prospectus, related
to its initial public offering, that was filed with the SEC on June 25, 1999.
Internet Postage, Stamps.com and the Stamps.com logo are trademarks of
Stamps.com Inc. All other brands and names are property of their respective
owners.