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f2 AND EISA SIGN DEAL FOR OZEMAIL PORTAL f2 To Take 5% Equity Stake in eisa at $2 per share SYDNEY, April 13, 2000 – John Fairfax Holdings Limited [ASX:FXJ] said today that its online subsidiary, f2 Limited, will manage and provide content for the portal of the eisa Limited and OzEmail businesses. eisa is slated to acquire OzEmail, which is a leading consumer ISP in Australia, with over 400,000 subscribers and a portal customer base of over 900,000. Mr Fred Hilmer, Chief Executive Officer of Fairfax, and Chairman of f2, said: "For Fairfax and f2, this deal, when concluded, will bring together Australia’s leading online content provider with Australia’s most dynamic ISP. By exploiting the powerful synergies between the ISP and our quality verticals in directories, finance, super-classifieds and shopping, this deal advances our strategy of building new platforms for growth, seeking wider distribution of our quality content, and creating new revenue streams through viewership and transactions." f2 will manage the content on the portal. The portal’s offer will incorporate f2’s core online businesses in finance, shopping, directories and super-classifieds, including the leading sites tradingroom.com.au, SOLD.com.au, CitySearch.com.au, domain.com.au, MyCareer.com.au, drive.com.au. The portal will also carry f2’s news sites, including the popular masthead sites smh.com.au, theage.com.au and afr.com.au. Mr Nigel Dews, Chief Executive of f2, said: "This is a significant development for f2. f2’s content and skills in content management will help make the portal and its related sites a compelling place for users of the web, and will help eisa create a tight relationship online with its subscribers. This will help f2 to expand its reach immediately, boosting the revenues already generated by our verticals. Together, we will create a powerful combination of an ISP and a portal." Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding that has been entered into with eisa, and which is subject to several legal and commercial conditions, f2 will pay $40 million to acquire a 5% equity stake in eisa at $2.00 per share (with performance options for an additional 3%). The portal will be a separate company, managed by f2 on behalf of f2 and eisa. f2 will also get a seat on eisa’s board of directors and a fee for managing the portal. -- ENDS -- For further information, please contact: Bruce Wolpe, Manager, Corporate Affairs, Tel: (02) 9282 3640 Note to editors John Fairfax Holdings [ASX:FXJ] is Australia’s leading publishing group. Its mastheads include The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Sun Herald, and BRW. In addition, the Company publishes financial and consumer magazines, and provides online services. In 1999, the Company had revenues of over $1.1 billion. f2, Fairfax Interactive Network, is a wholly owned subsidiary of John Fairfax Holdings Limited. f2 is building a strong position in e-commerce and is Australia’s leading provider of online content. The company’s extensive network of over 30 sites attracts over 2.3 million page views per day (2.4 million site visits per week) for its sites, including:
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Fairfax > Corporate Affairs & Media Releases > Announcements > EISA
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