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INTERNET.COM VENTURE FUNDS ANNOUNCE INVESTMENTS IN ASKIT.COM, BACKWIRE.COM, ELECTRICSMARTS.COM AND PLANETRICE.NET, A SUBSEQUENT ROUND OF FUNDING IN CREATIVEPLANET.COM AND THE ACQUISITION OF FOODSERVICE.COM BY FOODBUY.COM.
(New York, NY- September 21, 2000)- internet.com Venture Partners III, part of the affiliated venture capital arm of internet.com Corporation (Nasdaq: INTM), today announced the closing of investments in AskIt.com, Backwire.com, ElectricSmarts.com and PlanetRice.net. internet.com Venture Partners III is a $75 million fund that closed June 5, 2000. CreativePlanet.com (an internet.com Venture Fund I portfolio company) announced an additional round of funding led by TMCT Ventures. Also announced was the acquisition of FoodService.com (an internet.com Venture Fund II portfolio company) by Foodbuy.com.
internet.com Venture Partners III strategically follows internet.com Venture Funds I and II by expanding the portfolio of early-stage investments in Internet properties that demonstrate high growth potential and promote community and commerce through vertically focused content and informational resources. internet.com Venture Funds I and II and Venture Partners III have invested in 47 Internet properties to date. For further information about internet.com Venture Capital Funds visit (http://www.internet.comvc.com).
About AskIt.com
AskIt.com (www.askit.com) is the first company providing affordable outsourced online customer service and support solutions targeted specifically to organizations seeking an easy to use and rapid to deploy solution for their Web sites or intranets. AskIt's solution allows companies to reduce inbound e-mails and customer support costs up to 80%, increase customer service levels by offering 24x7 automated support, and gain valuable insight into their businesses. AskIt's functionality includes self-help, inbound and outbound e-mail management tools and integration with live chat. AskIt.com customers include Dean & DeLuca, Ritz Camera, Boater's World, The American Society for Association Executives, American Institute for Graphic Arts, New York New Media Association, BabyUniverse.com and ActionGear.com.
About Backwire.com
Backwire.com (www.backwire.com) publishes free, personalized e-mails that help Internet users find and navigate the wealth of quality content on the Web. Backwire.com's e-mail publications cover over 30 categories such as Internet and Technology, Personal Finance, Small Business, Personal Computing, Business and Investing and Career, to name a few. Backwire.com allows users to preview content at dozens of the top sites within a category and then use their browser to surf the material that catches their interest.
About ElectricSmarts.com
ElectricSmarts.com (www.electricsmarts.com) is a leading independent Web site for the electrical industry operated by IndustrySmarts, Inc. The site channels all the major electrical resources into one location where manufacturers, associations, distributors, contractors, engineers, architects and other electrical or related professionals can find each other. The site makes available all major industry organizations and publications with their important sublinks. ElectricSmarts.com includes the industry's most comprehensive events and training calendar, powerful research tools, a complete buyers' guide and industry directory. This "Smart Site" organizes these resources into an intelligent, intuitive and dynamic framework so that users can easily and quickly find the tools they need to do their work.
About PlanetRice.net
PlanetRice, Inc. (www.planetrice.net) owns and operates the rice industry vertical Web site, www.planetrice.net, "the interactive world of the rice industry," and is both a leading source of information for all things rice and a leading destination for rice industry professionals on the Internet. A vertical, industry specific community, with original and third party content, a comprehensive links directory and a powerful self-publishing directory, PlanetRice.net is the only online resource for the rice industry where companies can advertise and promote their products and services by publishing their own content.
About CreativePlanet.com
Creative Planet (www.creativeplanet.com), an internet.com Venture Fund I portfolio company, is a leading provider of business-to-business Internet services and resources for creative professionals. With its suite of project management applications, production databases, information services and Internet resources, Creative Planet offers a powerful, comprehensive service enabling the creative process. Creative Planet has focused significant resources on improving efficiencies in the film, television, music video and commercial production process. The company is leveraging its industry-standard applications to create an end-to-end Internet-based production management solution and marketplace. Creative Planet received an additional $38 million in new equity financing led by TMCT Ventures in August at an increased valuation.
About Foodservice.com
Foodservice.com (www.foodservice.com), an internet.com Venture Fund II portfolio company, is a leading B2B e-commerce and vertical online community created specifically for the $376 billion foodservice industry. Foodservice.com has a registered user base representing $1.2 billion in purchasing power. The site attracts over 160,000 visits from foodservice professionals each month, making it among the most active sites in the foodservice industry. Foodbuy.com (www.foodbuy.com) acquired Foodservice.com at the end of July, creating the first and only portal offering a total foodservice business solution: content, community, group purchasing and data management services. Foodbuy.com has a growing number of investors, namely CMGI @Ventures, CMGI's Venture Capital affiliate (Nasdaq: CMGI) and Morrison Management Specialists (NYSE: MHI).
About internet.com
internet.com Corporation (http://www.internet.com), the Internet Industry Portal, is headquartered in Darien, CT. It is a leading provider of global real-time news and information resources for Internet industry and Internet technology professionals, Web developers and experienced Internet users. internet.com operates a network of 132 Web sites, 250 e-mail newsletters, 136 online discussion forums and 78 moderated e-mail discussion lists with over 2.2 million unique visitors that generate over 150 million page views monthly. Total "views," which include Web site page views, e-mail newsletter views and e-mail discussion list views, are over 200 million per month. internet.com's global presence includes editions for Arabia, Asia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Español, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. internet.com, with its related internet.com Venture Funds I, II and III, is an investor in a growing number of business-to-business content sites and related Internet media properties.
Interested advertisers should contact the Ad Sales department at [email protected] or (203) 662-2962. For commerce and licensing opportunities, contact David Arganbright, Vice President, Commerce and Licensing, at [email protected] or (203) 662-2858. For Venture Capital information, contact Kirk Holland, Vice President, Business Development, [email protected] or (650) 745-3636.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding internet.com Corporation's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see internet.com's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date of this press release, and internet.com assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements after the date hereof.
For more information contact:
Steve Rubel
Schwartz Public Relations
(212) 677-8700 x23
[email protected]
Mary Ann Boland
internet.com Corporation
(212) 547-7939
[email protected]
All current internet.com Corp. press releases can be found on the World Wide Web at (http://www.internet.com/corporate/press.html)