NETRATINGS ACQUIRES ACNIELSEN ERATINGS.COM
*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ***
Contacts:
Maria Bumatay (Media)
(408) 586-7560
mbumatay@netratings.com
Jennifer Cohn (Investors)
(650) 470-4226
jennifer@stapleton.com
Milpitas, Calif.—May 7, 2002—NetRatings, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTRT), the global standard in Internet audience measurement and analysis, today announced that it has acquired ACNielsen eRatings.com for $9.6 million in stock. The transaction allows NetRatings and eRatings to fully integrate their businesses, combining operations and consolidating their services under a global brand.
ACNielsen eRatings.com, an Internet audience measurement company with operations outside the United States, is a joint venture 80.1 percent owned by ACNielsen and 19.9 percent owned by NetRatings. The companies jointly produce the Nielsen//NetRatings service which tracks audiences, advertising and user activity on the Internet globally.
Under the terms of the deal, NetRatings has acquired the 80.1 percent of ACNielsen eRatings.com that it does not already own for 749,341 shares of NetRatings stock, worth $9.6 million. VNU continues to own, through ACNielsen and Nielsen Media Research, a majority of the NetRatings shares outstanding and its designees continue to comprise a majority of the NetRatings’ directors.
”Providing a worldwide solution for understanding Internet users and usage is critical to the development of the Internet, especially for major media companies and advertisers,” said William Pulver, president and CEO of NetRatings, Inc. “Through our joint venture with ACNielsen eRatings.com, we set the global standard for Internet audience measurement and analysis. With this acquisition and integration, we can work even more closely to better and more efficiently service our clients under a common brand, unified team, and shared infrastructure.”
About NetRatings, Inc.
NetRatings, Inc. (www.netratings.com) provides the global standard in Internet audience measurement and analysis. Its technology driven products and services enable customers to make informed business-critical decisions regarding their Internet media and commerce strategies. Its products include the Nielsen//NetRatings audience measurement services, the AdRelevance online advertising measurement services, and the @plan user profiling and analysis services. NetRatings has strategic relationships with both Nielsen Media Research, the leading source of television audience measurement and related services in the U.S. and Canada, and ACNielsen, a leading provider of market research information and analysis to the consumer products and services industries.
About ACNielsen eRatings.com
ACNielsen eRatings.com is a venture between ACNielsen and NetRatings Inc. Through the Nielsen//NetRatings service, ACNielsen eRatings.com is creating the first global service for tracking audiences, advertising and user activity on the Internet worldwide.
About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU company, has 21,000 employees worldwide and is the world`s leading market research firm, offering measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics, consumer attitudes and behavior, and new and traditional media in more than 100 countries. ACNielsen`s clients include leading consumer product manufacturers and retailers, service firms, media and entertainment companies and the Internet community.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains statements that may constitute forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve a number of uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently expected. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others:
· Risks associated with the successful integration of the acquired business and the realization of the anticipated benefits of the transaction
· Risks associated with the rapidly evolving market for the Company`s products
· The increasing competitive market for Internet audience measurement and analytical services
· Risks related to the growth of online advertising
· The combined company`s ability to manage international expansion and significant growth in the future
· The combined company`s continued dependence on ACNielsen for certain support services related to its international operations
Additional information about potential factors that may affect NetRatings` business and financial results is included in its Annual Report filing with the SEC on Form 10K for the year ended December 31, 2001 including, without limitation, under the captions "Management`s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Factors That May Affect Our Performance." Additional information will also be set forth in NetRatings` quarterly report on Form 10Q for the 3 month period ending on March 31, 2002, which will be filed with the SEC in the near future. NetRatings does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by it or on behalf of the Company.
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