Ad-hoc | 30 March 2000 12:59

Ad hoc-Service: Travel24.com AG english

Ad hoc-announcement edited and sent by DGAP. The sender is responsible for the contents of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Travel24.com in Exclusive Cooperation with PLUSCARD and ÖRAG – Cooperation will provide joint marketing of travel services – Gross sales potential from mediated travel services of DM 20 million The Neuer Markt-listed internet travel services provider Travel24.com AG has signed an exclusive contract with PLUSCARD, servicer of credit card processing for the Sparkasse organization, assuring that both businesses will jointly market travel services in the future – particularly in the internet. Travel24.com will offer the approximately 240 credit institutions which form PLUSCARD’s customer base the possibility of integrating Travel24.com’s internet reservations and booking tool into their web presence. As a result, Travel24.com AG will have access to all credit card customers of the Sparkasse Finance Group and will in turn offer these customers travel services through advertising which will be included in their customers credit card billing. These services can then be booked over the internet or a 24-hour hotline. As a result, Travel24.com serves as the exclusive travel services provider of PLUSCARD, with an annual sales potential of DM 10 million. Founded in 1996 by the Sparkasse Finance Group, PLUSCARD currently employs 60 and processes the transactions of 940,000 credit cards for 240 institutions. PLUSCARD aimed for 1999 card processing sales of approximately DM 2.6 billion. Shareholders of PLUSCARD are the development association of the Lower Saxony Sparkassen and Giroverbandes (NSGV), the Eastern German Sparkassen and Giroverband (OSGV), the Sparkassen Information and Communications Service GmbH (SIK) as well as the Sparkassen and Giroverband of Schleswig-Holstein (SGVSH). Travel24.com AG has also agreed to an exclusive distribution cooperation with ÖRAG, an insurance company of the Sparkasse Finance Group, aimed at joint marketing of travel services over the internet. The distribution cooperation gives Travel24.com exclusive access to the customer base of one of Germany’s leading insurance providers. ÖRAG ranks as one of Germany’s top 10 insurance companies, with approximately 900,000 policies resulting in more than DM 230 million (1999). Travel24.com’s annual sales potential lies at DM 10 million. Travel24.com is the first fully integrated German internet travel portal, through which the full range of travel services can be booked online. The Munich online travel services provider is thereby equipped with all necessary distributions licenses on the German market. Travel24.com achieved gross earnings from mediating travel services in excess of DM 20 million in the last year. End of Message