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EXHIBIT 99.1
Satyam Infoway Announces Agreement to Acquire US
Based Online Shopping Mall IndiaPlaza in an All Stock Deal
CHENNAI, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 25, 2000--Satyam Infoway Limited
(Nasdaq:SIFY - news), India's premier Internet and eCommerce company announced
today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of San Jose, CA
based IndiaPlaza.com Inc., a leading worldwide India-interest online shopping
mall.
In an all-stock deal, Satyam Infoway will acquire IndiaPlaza.com Inc. by issuing
480,000 American Depositary Shares (ADSs) of Satyam Infoway. (At the closing
price of Satyam Infoway's ADSs at Nasdaq on Monday, 24th July 2000 the deal is
valued at US $ 8.1 million).
IndiaPlaza.com Inc. (http://www.indiaplaza.com) owns and operates online
shopping malls in the USA, UK and in India. IndiaPlaza.com is very popular with
the large and growing Non-resident Indian (NRI) population in the US, UK and
elsewhere and caters to the specific shopping needs of this population with a
wide range of products including music, movies, food and grocery items, gift
articles, fashion jewelry, arts and handicrafts, mithai (sweets), rakhis, Diwali
shopping etc. IndiaPlaza.com has strategic tie-ups with vendors and distribution
channels providing a seamless experience to the user in placing the order,
tracking it and processing payments.
IndiaPlaza reported revenues of US $ 0.5 Million for the quarter ended 30th June
2000. Under the terms of the deal, the team that created and operated IndiaPlaza
is expected to continue to work for SIFY.
Mr. R. Ramaraj, CEO and Managing Director of SIFY said, "IndiaPlaza will be a
solid strategic fit to SIFY's portal business and complements our IndiaWorld
acquisition. IndiaPlaza's shopping mall on the net, logistics backbone and
customer interface is expected to go a long way in raising the eCommerce revenue
potential of SIFY's online community in the US, UK and elsewhere."
Mr. Vijay Shah, CEO of IndiaPlaza said, "We are happy to be part of SIFY's
portal business. This will entail a wider reach for IndiaPlaza.com and will
enable us to synergise our strengths in eshopping with SIFY's leadership in the
portal business."
About SIFY
Satyam Infoway Limited (Nasdaq:SIFY - news) is the second largest national
provider of Internet access and Internet services to consumers and businesses in
India. As of June 2000, Satyam Infoway has more than 200,000 consumer Internet
subscribers. The Company's network presently serves 44 locations, covering more
than 220 cities throughout India. The products of Satyam Infoway include
consumer Internet access services, on-line portal and content offerings and
corporate network and technology services. Satyam Infoway has the distinction of
being the first ISP in India to be awarded the ISO 9002 for customer
satisfaction. Over 500 corporations use Satyam Infoway's business-to-business
products and services. UUNet Technologies, Sterling
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Commerce and Open Market are some of Satyam Infoway's strategic partners. SIFY's
portal (including IndiaWorld Communications' websites) registered an aggregate
of 80 million page views in June 2000.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27-A of Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21 E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements
contained herein are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking
statements. For a discussion of the risks associated with Satyam Infoway's
business, please see the discussion under the caption "Risks related to our
Business" in Satyam Infoway's Report on Form 20-F for the year ended March 31,
2000 which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This
report is available at www.sec.gov.
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Contact:
Satyam Infoway Ltd.
R. Ramaraj or George Zacharias or T. R. Santhanakrishnan
(+ 91 44) 435 3221
