PASADENA, Calif.--May 21, 2003--Overture Services, Inc. (Nasdaq:OVER), a global leader in commercial search services on the Internet, today announced it has extended its European momentum with the official launch of its Pay-For-Performance search service in Italy.
Overture Italy builds on the company`s growing global presence, which includes its non-U.S. business headquarters in Ireland and operations in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, and South Korea. Based in Milan, Overture`s newest subsidiary allows businesses with product and service offerings relevant to the Italian marketplace to participate in the company`s commercial search service. As previously announced, the company named Gianluca Carrera as managing director of Overture Italy.
As one of the fastest-growing advertising mediums in Europe, paid search is expected to contribute 363 million euros (approximately US$425 million) to ad spending in that market in 2005, up from 140 million euros (approximately US$160 million) in 2002, according to Jupiter Research. The company announced in April that it would expand into Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and Scandinavia before the end of 2003. Overture expects its international operations to be profitable by early 2004.
"Overture`s launch into Italy is an important step in our European expansion and targets a market where advertisers are beginning to realize the importance and cost effectiveness of paid search," said Johannes Larcher, general manager, Overture International. "At launch, we have agreements with several key Italian partners and we look forward to expanding our distribution network with a broader range of search products and services in the coming months."
Overture`s Italian Pay-For-Performance search listings are generated by advertisers who bid for placement on keywords relevant to their businesses. A multi-lingual editorial team based at Overture`s search services and operations center in Dublin carefully screens these listings before they are distributed to the company`s Italian partners, which include Internet Service Provider (ISP) Tiscali Italy, as well as Lycos Europe and Excite. In addition, through the recent acquisition of AltaVista, Overture will soon begin serving its Pay-For-Performance results to AltaVista`s Italian Web site at www.altavista.it.
"Overture`s sixth international operation will offer superior value to advertisers, consumers, and distribution partners," Carrera said. "Italian advertisers will benefit from customer service that`s tailored to their unique business needs, while Web sites and their users will gain greater access to relevant search listings that are customized for the Italian market."
About Overture
Overture is a global leader in commercial search services on the Internet, providing new and more powerful ways for businesses and customers to connect online. Overture pioneered commercial search by aligning the interests of consumers; its 88,000 active, paying advertisers; and its distribution partners, including Yahoo!, MSN, and CNN. The company offers a full suite of Internet search products and search-related services. In addition, the company operates the AltaVista.com and AlltheWeb.com Web sites. Founded in 1997, Overture is based in Pasadena, Calif., with U.S. offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Palo Alto, Calif. The headquarters for Overture`s non-U.S. business is in Ireland, with offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Norway, Japan, and South Korea. The company employs more than 1,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company`s Web site at www.overture.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements that potential Web site partners (in the U.S. and internationally) and their users will want to use Overture search results and that advertisers and businesses in these markets will want to participate in Overture`s search results by seeking enhanced placement in the search results. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, that Overture`s products and technologies may not successfully work with those of Overture`s distribution affiliates or other third parties in the Italian market, the launch of Overture in Italy may not happen in a timely manner or may not happen at all, the implementation may not be successful or generate revenue for Overture or yield economic benefits to Overture or our Italian distribution affiliates, the risk that Overture`s advertisers and businesses may not want traffic from Overture`s Italian distribution affiliates, or users may not click on Overture`s search results. For a discussion of other risks that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, see the discussion of "Risks That Could Affect Our Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Overture`s quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the period ended March 31, 2003. Overture undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.
Overture and Pay-For-Performance are service marks of Overture Services, Inc.
CONTACTS:
Overture Services, Inc.
Al Duncan, 626/685-5714 (Media)
Laurie Berman, 626/229-5368 (Investors)
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