Mike Gentile ([email protected])
Thu, 28 Jan 1999 05:21:54 PST
Two of Web's Leading Brands Form World's Largest Online Community
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:
YHOO)
today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire GeoCities,
(Nasdaq: GCTY), the definitive leader in personal publishing tools and
Web-based communities. The acquisition combines two of the largest and
most
popular services on the Internet. This powerful combination enhances
Yahoo!'s
position as one of the world's leading global branded Web networks.
Under the terms of the agreement, Yahoo!(R) will issue 0.3384 shares
of
Yahoo! common stock for each share of GeoCities common stock. In
addition,
all outstanding options of GeoCities will be converted into Yahoo!
options.
The acquisition, which will be accounted for as a pooling of interests
and is
subject to certain conditions, regulatory approval and approval by
GeoCities
shareholders, is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 1999.
Yahoo! expects to record a one-time charge in the second fiscal quarter
of
1999 relating to acquisition expenses.
GeoCities, founded in 1994, pioneered and defined the Web community
experience. With more than 3.5 million sites authored and hosted on
GeoCities, the company has built one of the Web's largest communities.
GeoCities' easy-to-use and innovative publishing tools, which recently
received C|Net's "Editors' Choice" award, allow non-technical users to
instantly create, publish and update content on the Web. With 74
percent more
reach than its next closest competitor (Media Metrix, December 1998),
GeoCities' popular personal publishing services have made it one of the
top
three individual sites on the Web. GeoCities.com's combined home/work
reach
of 33.4 percent (Media Metrix, December 1998) is evidence of its brand
strength and broad appeal to users worldwide. With the addition of
GeoCities
to the Yahoo! network, the companies expect their combined unduplicated
home/work reach to exceed 58 percent, which would make it the second
largest
network of properties on the Web.
"GeoCities has built the Web's most popular and widely used
community,"
said Tim Koogle, chairman and CEO, Yahoo!. "Through this acquisition,
we are
accelerating our global leadership position by combining two of the
Web's
strongest brands and most heavily used services into one powerful
offering."
With more than 35 million unique registrations for its member
services
worldwide, Yahoo! has built one of the Web's largest registered
communities.
Yahoo! has continued to expand its comprehensive, global branded network
of
properties where its members can create, publish and communicate
user-generated content with others on the Web. Through GeoCities,
Yahoo! will
be able to integrate and distribute a powerful set of state-of-the-art
editing
tools and content published through personal homepages in an array of
services, such as Yahoo! Clubs, Yahoo! Classifieds, Yahoo! Shopping,
Yahoo!
Auctions, and other areas of the network. In addition, GeoCities
provides a
powerful platform for distributing Yahoo! services to GeoCities'
extensive
community of members, including shopping, communications, and
personalized
services.
"We are thrilled to be joining the Yahoo! team," said Tom Evans,
president
and CEO of GeoCities. "This combination will allow us to accelerate our
offerings to GeoCities and Yahoo! users worldwide."
Yahoo!, upon completion of the merger, will exchange approximately
10,613,000 shares of Yahoo! common stock for approximately 31,361,000
shares
of GeoCities common stock. Additionally, Yahoo! will convert
approximately
8,945,000 GeoCities stock options into approximately 3,027,000 Yahoo!
stock
options.
About GeoCities
Based in Marina del Rey, Calif., GeoCities has offices in London,
New York
and San Francisco, and is one of the largest and fastest-growing
communities
of personal Web sites on the Internet. More than 3.5 million GeoCities
Homesteaders have created over 32 million pages of personalized content.
In
December 1998, GeoCities attracted over 19 million unique visitors and
was the
third most trafficked Web site on the Internet, according to Media
Metrix.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a global Internet media company that offers a branded
network of comprehensive information, communication and shopping
services to
millions of users daily. As the first online navigational guide to the
Web,
www.yahoo.com is a leading guide in terms of traffic, advertising,
household
and business user reach, and is one of the most recognized brands
associated
with the Internet. The company's global Web network includes 18 world
properties. Yahoo! has offices in Europe, the Asia Pacific and Canada,
and is
headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks
and uncertainties including the ability to successfully integrate the
two
companies, and to realize the synergies and other perceived advantages
resulting from this acquisition, including Yahoo!'s ability to grow its
user
and advertiser bases and to achieve expectations for anticipated
financial
results based on the combined entity. More information about potential
factors that could affect Yahoo!'s ability to make this acquisition
successful
and continue to grow the business are included in Yahoo!'s Annual Report
on
Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 1997 and Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q
for the period ended Sept. 30, 1998, including, without limitation,
under the
captions, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition
and
Results of Operations," "Risk Factors," "Competition," and "Proprietary
Rights," which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
More
information about potential factors that could affect GeoCities'
business and
financial results are in GeoCities' Form S-1 and on GeoCities' Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended Sept. 30, 1998, which are on
file
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, information
about
this transaction will be included in the combined Prospectus and Proxy
Statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(http://www.sec.gov).
Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc.
All
other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their
respective
owners.
SOURCE Yahoo! Inc.
-0- 01/28/99
/CONTACT: Blaise Simpson, NRW PR, 650-827-7065, [email protected];
or
Diane Hunt, Yahoo! Inc., 408-731-3441, [email protected]; or Bruce
Zanca,
GeoCities, 310-827-3700, x1206, [email protected]/
/Web site: http://www.sec.gov/
/Web site: http://geocities.com/
/Web site: http://www.yahoo.com/
(YHOO GCTY)
CO: Yahoo! Inc.; GeoCities
ST: California
IN: CPR MLM ENT ADV
SU: TNM
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