Ad-hoc | 16 March 2005 17:46
United Internet AG and WEB.DE AG plan comprehensive alliance
Ad hoc announcement §15 WpHG
Mergers & Aquisitions
United Internet AG and WEB.DE AG plan comprehensive alliance
Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Ad hoc announcement acc. to § 15 WpHG
United Internet AG and WEB.DE AG plan comprehensive alliance: negotiations on
take-over of WEB.DE AG’s business segment Internet portal and on distribution
in the field of Web Telecommunications
United Internet AG, Montabaur and WEB.DE AG, Karlsruhe intend to enter into a
comprehensive alliance in the fields of Internet portal business and Web
Telecommunications. Within this alliance the companies currently exclusively
negotiate about the take-over of WEB.DE AG’s entire business segment Internet
portal with all the employees, technologies, assets as well as trademarks and
licenses against a cash volume of EUR 200 million and 5.8 million shares of
United Internet AG. An respective Letter of Intent was signed today. The
implementation of this basic agreement is subject to the usual prerequisites,
Due Diligence and Signing of the contracts to be negotiated. The execution of
the contracts will depend on the consent of the antitrust commission and the
relevant bodies. The contracts are expected to be signed in April.
As a result of the take-over of the portal http://www.web.de (10.47 monthly
users according to AGOF 9/2004), United Internet (7,59 Mio monthly user acc.
to AGOF with GMX alone) with a consolidated market reach of then more than 16
million monthly users (unduplicated reach in accordance with
AGOF/Nielsen/WEB.DE) will become the largest portal- and internet service
company in Germany, ahead of T-Online (13.15 million monthly users acc. to
AGOF), MSN-Tomorrow Focus and Yahoo. United Internet will thus be in a leading
position and benefit above-average from the future developments in online
advertising, E-Commerce, DSL, online services, web hosting and web
telecommunications.
With this comprehensive alliance under the umbrella of United Internet, the
leading marketer of online advertising in Germany in terms of market reach and
advertising space volume (more than 2.5 billion page views a month and more
than 16 million monthly users) will evolve.
Within the scope of the alliance United Internet will offer WEB.DE AG’s next
generation Web Telecommunications products, currently being developed, to the
entire user base of United Internet.
Marcus Schaps
Press spokesman United Internet AG
United Internet AG
Elgendorfer Strasse 57
56410 Montabaur
Germany
Tel: +49 2602/96-1076
Mobil: +49 173/5112703
Fax: +49 2602/96-1013
E-mail: mschaps@united-internet.de
Internet: http://www.united-internet.com
United Internet AG
Elgendorfer Str. 57
56410 Montabaur
Deutschland
ISIN: DE0005089031 (TecDAX)
WKN: 508903
Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin-
Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart
End of ad hoc announcement (c)DGAP 16.03.2005
161746 Mär 05