Dulles, VA and Las Vegas, NV - May 08, 2001 - America Online, Inc. and PurchasePro® (Nasdaq: PPRO), a leading enabler of business-to-business, e-commerce solutions for companies of all sizes, today announced an agreement with Travelocity.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: TVLY) to establish a private-label marketplace that will be interconnected with the Netscape Netbusiness Marketplace. In addition, the BizProLink Network, a leader in bringing together small and mid-sized businesses and the companies that serve them through the Internet's largest network of customized industry-specific communities, will provide its content and tools within the Communities section of the Netbusiness Marketplace.
The Netbusiness Marketplace, jointly developed by AOL and PurchasePro®, is a global e-commerce network linking hundreds of communities and marketplaces enabling small, medium and large businesses to buy, sell and interact online. The agreements announced today expand the communities currently participating in the Netbusiness Marketplace. The Netbusiness Marketplace provides the opportunity for companies of all sizes to create specialized industry-specific marketplaces, providing a convenient one-stop location for buyers and sellers to conduct business online.
Fred Singer, SVP of AOL Interactive Services and General Manager of Netscape Netbusiness said, "We are delighted to announce the addition of Travelocity® and BizProLink Network to the expanding online trading and information communities available through the Netscape Netbusiness Marketplace. By further expanding the industry-specific and broad-based markets available to buyers and sellers from companies of all sizes, we have increased the effectiveness and relevance of the Netbusiness Marketplace."
"Today's announcement is the latest example of continuing to drive companies into the Netbusiness Marketplace," said Chris Benyo, SVP Marketing for PurchasePro®. "The Netbusiness Marketplace has the power to reshape procurement processes, modify business communications between buyer and seller and enhance channel development for businesses, regardless of size. We hope that the Netbusiness Marketplace will continue to grow, evolving into the country's premiere e-commerce destination."
The agreement with Travelocity the leading travel Web site, providing Internet and wireless information for more than 700 airlines, more than 50,000 hotels and more than 50 car rental companies, follows other strategic marketplace deals recently announced, including those with Hewlett-Packard Company, Homestore.com, Monster.com and Spherion Corporation. Additionally, BizProLink Network (www.bizprolink.com), with its complete range of business services, information and tools will provide extensive vertical industry and community information in the Communities section within the Netbusiness Marketplace providing increased functionality to the Marketplace.
Netscape Netbusiness is driving small business membership on the Marketplace through its popular Netbusiness Card, which provides detailed information about each member's products, services, location and industry classification to millions of potential customers online. All current and new Netbusiness Card members are automatically registered in the Marketplace and are also eligible to win one million AOL/AAdvantage Reward miles being offered by Netbusiness as part of a major three-month promotional campaign.
About Netscape Netbusiness
Launched by AOL and Netscape in September 2000, Netscape Netbusiness provides a free, one-stop home on the Internet to enable owners of small businesses to better manage both their operations and everyday lives. Netbusiness offers easy-to-use and fully customizable information resources, productivity and communications tools including message boards and custom Netbusiness version of Netscape Instant Messenger, and a free online presence with the innovative "Netbusiness Card", which enables registered users to create an "online storefront" for free.
About PurchasePro®
PurchasePro® (Nasdaq: PPRO), a leader in business-to-business e-commerce, operates the PurchasePro® global marketplace, encompassing more than 140,000 businesses and powering hundreds of private-label marketplaces with its highly scalable, browser-based e-commerce engine.
PurchasePro's® solutions enable businesses of all sizes to easily buy and sell products and services, and compete more effectively by enhancing sales opportunities, reducing procurement costs and greatly increasing employee productivity. PurchasePro® provides the following business-to-business e-commerce solutions: e-Procurement for corporate procurement, v-Distributor for online distributors, and e-MarketMaker for Internet market makers.
PurchasePro® has developed strategic sales and marketing relationships with industry leaders including America Online, Computer Associates, Gateway, Hilton, Office Depot, and Sprint. The company provides extensive support and training programs. For information, call toll free at (888) 830-4600 or in Las Vegas at (702) 316-7000 or visit www.purchasepro.com.
This press release includes forward-looking statements, which are subject to the "Safe Harbor" created by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements (which involve the company's plans, beliefs and goals, refer to estimates or use similar terms) involve certain risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties associated with rapidly changing technologies such as the Internet, the risks of technology development and the risks of competition that can cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements represent only the views of certain members of management and do not necessarily represent a consensus of all employees and managers within the company. Moreover, those forward-looking statements are based on limited information available to us now, which is subject to change. It should be clearly understood that the factors and perceptions on which these forward-looking statements are based are highly likely to change over time and that we have no current plan to update these statements. Actual results may differ substantially from what we say today and no one should assume at a later date that the forward-looking statements provided herein are still valid. They speak only as of today. For more information about these risks and uncertainties, see the SEC filings of PurchasePro Inc., including the section titled "Factors That May Affect Results" in its 10-K filing for the period ended December 31, 1999, and its 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2000, which is available from the company on request and on the Internet at the SEC's Web site, www.sec.gov.
Note to Editors: PurchasePro is a servicemark of PurchasePro.com Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
