DAUM ACQUIRES LYCOS... KOREAN PORTAL ENTRY INTO U.S. MARKET

This is interesting. The leading Internet portal in Korea bought Lycos for an entry into the U.S. market. I was wondering what was going to happen to Lycos. This was probably Dave Kim's idea. He's an advisor to Jae-woong Lee, Daum's CEO, former CFO at Chinadotcom, and now CEO of Lycos U.S. I've known Dave since our high school years in Chicago, but haven't crossed paths much. Anyway, good luck guys on your new venture.

Korean Daum Acquires Lycos U.S.

Two Internet Leaders Team to Propel Lycos Brand
Daum #1 Internet Site in Korea, leader throughout Asia, enters U.S. Market via Lycos acquisition

WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Daum Communications Corp., the Korean Internet leader, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Lycos, Inc. The transaction, first announced in July of this year, closed today, and includes the Lycos.com site as well as Lycos' popular specialty sites, wired.com, tripod.com, angelfire.com, matchmaker.com, quote.com, and hotbot.com. The sale also includes ownership of the Lycos brand globally excluding Europe. Lycos will continue to operate as a stand alone business entity with its U.S. headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Daum is the number one Internet site in Korea, and a leader throughout the Asian markets, focusing on community, e-commerce and on-line transaction. Daum brings to the union expertise and successes from its Korean business. With 75% broadband penetration, Korea tops the list of broadband and wireless markets. The new combination will focus on the areas of greatest strengths of the two companies: search, community and web publishing.

In February of this year, Lycos unveiled a new corporate strategy centered on personal connectivity. The strategy was specifically designed to enhance the continuation of its successful subscription services and performance based advertising model. Lycos U.S. achieved EBITDA profitability last year, as the company launched new products and controlled expenses. This summer Lycos launched two new connectivity products, People and Discussion Search, and plans call for more product introductions later this fall.

"The Lycos brand is well known and respected around the world. Acquiring Lycos is a natural next step for us as we venture beyond the Asian market into the leading Internet markets of the world. We are excited about the synergies and opportunities that exist and look forward to together strengthening the Lycos brand in the U.S.," stated Jae-woong Lee, President and CEO of Daum.

"We are enthusiastic about this new union and the synergies it brings for a stronger Lycos. Lycos has a network of diverse and highly rated Internet brands and our successes in the area of Internet community position us well to build a comprehensive and compelling offering in the U.S. market," stated David Kim, CEO of Lycos U.S.