EXHIBIT 99.1
Exhibit 99.1
[LETTERHEAD OF WIT CAPITAL]
Contacts:
Citigate Dewe Rogerson Wit SoundView Group, Inc.
Robin Weinberg Jennifer DiClerico
800-966-0676 212-253-4481
WIT SOUNDVIEW SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE E*OFFERING ACQUISITION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE...
STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH E*TRADE TO COMMENCE TODAY; E*TRADE AND WIT
SOUNDVIEW RELATIONSHIP PROVIDES IPOS AND OTHER EQUITY RELATED PRODUCTS TO
E*TRADE'S THREE MILLION CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS
Conference Call To Be Held Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 17, at 5:00 p.m.
October 16, 2000, New York - Wit SoundView Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: WITC) today
announced that a majority of its shareholders voted in favor of the
previously announced acquisition of investment banking firm E*OFFERING. The
closing of the acquisition, scheduled for this afternoon, marks the
official commencement of Wit SoundView's exclusive alliance with E*TRADE.
Several important developments result from the close:
o Wit SoundView is the exclusive provider of IPOs, follow-on offerings,
and other investment banking products to E*TRADE's approximately 3
million customer accounts.
o Wit SoundView has a right to receive from E*TRADE all secondary market
order flow in which Wit SoundView is a market maker. Wit SoundView
currently makes markets in over [230] stocks.
o Wit SoundView transferred its brokerage accounts to E*TRADE on
September 29. Wit SoundView will leverage E*TRADE's online brokerage
platform to distribute products to retail investors.
o E*TRADE and General Atlantic Partners, LLC, will each purchase 2
million shares of Wit SoundView Group, Inc. common stock at a price of
$10.25 per share, generating approximately $41 million in proceeds to
Wit SoundView.
o Christos M. Cotsakos, chairman of the board and chief executive
officer, E*TRADE Group, Inc.; Bill Ford, partner of General Atlantic
Partners; and Mark Loehr, co-President of Wit SoundView join Wit
SoundView's Board of Directors. As previously announced, Ronald
Readmond will end his term as a director in connection with completion
of the acquisition.
Robert Lessin, Chairman and CEO said, "Through the E*TRADE alliance, we
will be able to reach 3 million customer accounts with our research and
investment banking products and leverage E*TRADE's substantial technology
infrastructure. This capability, coupled with our strong institutional
business, creates a unique platform and a strong position from which we'll
continue to grow our business."
Separately, Wit SoundView will report third quarter earnings tomorrow,
Tuesday, October 17th after the close of the market. A conference call is
scheduled for Tuesday at 5:00 p.m., in which the firm plans to discuss
earnings results, the E*OFFERING acquisition and the E*TRADE strategic
alliance. Participants may dial into the call at (888) 799-1438.
Wit SoundView Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: WITC) is an investment banking group
focused exclusively on the technology and Internet sectors. Wit SoundView
offers a strong complement of investment banking services, including public
offerings and M&A, venture capital, private equity placements and strategic
advisory. With one of the largest research teams in the sector, Wit
SoundView produces comprehensive sell-side research on approximately 285
technology and Internet companies, developed for online and institutional
audiences. For more information, please see www.witsoundview.com.
E*TRADE, a global leader in online personal financial services, is the
world's most-visited online investing site according to Media Metrix
(2/00), offering value-added investing and research features, premium
customer service and a redundant, proprietary Stateless ArchitectureSM
infrastructure. In addition to the US, E*TRADE presently serves customers
through branded web sites in Denmark, Korea, Japan, the U.K., Sweden,
France, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. E*TRADE has been recognized as a
leader in online financial services by Gomez Advisors, Lafferty Information
and Research Group, PC Magazine and Smart Computing magazine. E*TRADE
Securities Inc. (Member NASD/SIPC), and its parent company, E*TRADE Group,
Inc. have offices in Northern California and in other major business
centers in the US and worldwide. E*TRADE is a registered trademark of
E*TRADE Securities, Inc.
(C) 2000 Wit SoundView Group. All Rights Reserved.
