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Statement by John Fairfax Holdings on f2-YAHOO! transactions SYDNEY, February 15, 2001 - Mr Fred Hilmer, Chief Executive Officer of John Fairfax Holdings Limited [ASX:FXJ], issued the following statement on agreements that have been reached between f2 and Yahoo! Australia & NZ involving SOLD.com.au: "This is an excellent return on our investment in SOLD.com.au. Our total investment was in the order of $12 million. The financial impact of these transactions will result in a gain of approximately $19 million in the current financial year. The economic value of the deal to Fairfax is in the order of $30 million, of which about 80% will be paid in cash." The text of the f2-Yahoo announcement follows:
Media
Release
- February 15, 1001 Yahoo!
Australia & NZ to Acquire SOLD.com.au from Fairfax’s f2 Sydney, Australia – Feb. 15, 2001 - Yahoo! Australia & NZ today announced multiple agreements with f2, the wholly-owned interactive subsidiary of John Fairfax Holdings Limited (ASX: FXJ). According to the agreements, Yahoo! Australia and NZ plans to acquire SOLD.com.au., one of Australia’s leading online auction sites, and enter into a marketing agreement with f2 to continue distributing SOLD content across f2’s network of sites.
In addition, the companies have entered into SOLD.com.au currently hosts the largest number – more than 50,000 (at the end of January) – of Australian-dollar online auction listings. In addition to the acquisition, f2 has agreed to co-promote and sell Yahoo! Australia & NZ’s store and auctions services to customers of their Citysearch.com.au Directory services. f2’s real estate business, Domain.com.au, will also become the preferred and leading provider of real estate listings to Yahoo! Australia & NZ. By joining forces, the two companies are able to leverage their strengths to reach new audiences and provide essential commerce programs and services to local consumers and businesses. “The agreements with f2 allow us to offer even more compelling commerce solutions and introduce local consumers and businesses to an expanded set of programming and services,” said Tony Faure, managing director, Yahoo! Australia & NZ. “By leveraging our global network and resources with SOLD’s local auction expertise, Citysearch’s strong sales force and f2’s Domain.com.au real estate offerings, we hope to make Yahoo! Australia & NZ an essential source for conducting online transactions and deliver an unparalleled Internet experience to the marketplace.” Mr
Nigel Dews, CEO of f2, said: “We have built a very strong business
in SOLD.com.au, which will now be taken, by a leading global brand,
to the next stage in its growth, and benefit SOLD’s buyers and sellers.
Moving forward, we will build our businesses, in CitySearch print
and online directories, our classified supersites, and financial services,
while continuing to distribute SOLD.com.au on the f2 network. “This
deal with Yahoo! Australia & NZ is a significant achievement for
f2 and Fairfax. Going forward, f2 will be in an even stronger position
to grow our other interactive businesses.” SOLD.com.au
is one of the leading auctions sites in the local market with over
180,000 registered users, 185 retail merchants, and completed, over
the July-December 2000 period, more than 129,000 successful auctions,
with gross merchandise sales exceeding $11.8 million.
SOLD.com.au derives its revenues from listing fees, commissions
and advertising. The announcement today further demonstrates Yahoo!’s dedication to developing its global properties. Together Yahoo! Australia & NZ and f2 are combining their strengths to provide local merchants and consumers with valuable programs and services to conduct commerce transactions. The addition of SOLD.com.au to Yahoo!’s suite of commerce offerings establishes Yahoo! Australia & NZ as a leader in the rapidly expanding local commerce space. The company plans to continue to offer Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions, along with SOLD.com.au’s -listing service to give individuals and businesses a wider range of options for buying and selling goods. In addition to auctions, Yahoo! Australia & NZ’s current commerce offerings include Yahoo! Store and Yahoo! Shopping. “Yahoo! is committed to investing in the growth of our local properties and building a leading global consumer and business services company,” said Heather Killen, senior vice president of international operations, Yahoo! Inc. “We continue to seek opportunities to team up with leading players worldwide to increase audience reach and deliver a superior Internet experience to individuals and clients around the world.” Yahoo! Australia & NZ will use cash to make the acquisition, which will be accounted for as a purchase transaction and is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2001, subject to the satisfaction of certain customary conditions. For more information please contact: Anna Featherstone, Yahoo! Australia & NZ 02 8925 0100 annaf@au.yahoo-inc.com Bruce Wolpe, Fairfax Ltd 02 9282 3640 bwolpe@mail.fairfax.com.au About
f2
f2,
the Fairfax Interactive Network, is a leading online publisher.
All of the f2 network sites and its partner’s sites are accessible
through its home page at f2.com.au.
The company is building dynamic interactive businesses, focusing
on driving overall growth in the key areas of print and online directories
(including Big Colour Pages and CitySearch.com.au); financial services
(including tradingroom.com.au
and moneymanager.com.au);
classified supersites (mycareer.com.au,
domain.com.au, and drive.com.au);
f2 shopping; news (smh.com.au,
theage.com.au, and afr.com);
and sport (sportstoday.com.au). These
sites are leaders in their respective markets in terms of traffic
and revenue. f2’s full
year financial results (year ended June 30, 2000) showed overall revenues
grew by 122% to $55.4 million, revenues from internet activities up
159%, page views up 136%, and an increase in registered members to
636,000, up 156%. Currently
the f2 network attracts around 1.5 million unique users (Red Sheriff).
All news releases are posted at f2.com.au/announcements/.
f2 is a wholly owned subsidiary of John Fairfax Holdings Limited
[ASX:FXJ]. About
Yahoo! Australia & NZ Yahoo!
Australia & NZ is part of the Yahoo! global network of sites and
is one of the most recognised Internet brands in the region. By working
with leading local companies, Yahoo! Australia & NZ provides comprehensive
and localised media, commerce and communication services to millions
of Australians and New Zealanders each month. For marketers and businesses,
the company offers intelligent, innovative and integrated solutions
for maximum impact. Yahoo! Australia & NZ has offices in Sydney
and Melbourne and can be found on the Web at www.yahoo.com.au
and www.yahoo.co.nz
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Fairfax > Corporate Affairs & Media Releases > Announcements > YAHOO
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