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EXHIBIT 99.1
[NETZEE LOGO]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Richard S. Eiswirth
Chief Financial Officer
770-200-3450
NETZEE CLOSES ACQUISITION OF INTERNET BANKING AND BILL PAYMENT
BUSINESSES FROM JOHN H. HARLAND COMPANY
ATLANTA, Nov. 10, 2000 -- Netzee, Inc. (Nasdaq:NETZ), a leading provider of
Internet banking products and e-commerce solutions to the financial services
industry, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of John H.
Harland Company's (NYSE: JH) Internet banking and bill payment businesses.
Under the terms of the agreement, Netzee acquired these businesses for 4.4
million shares of Netzee common stock. Harland, a leading provider of financial
software, printed products and direct marketing to the financial institution
market, also made a $5 million secured loan to Netzee at the time of the initial
signing on September 29, 2000. With the closing, Harland now has a 17 percent
ownership interest in Netzee.
"Netzee is now one of the largest Internet banking providers in the United
States in terms of installed financial institutions, backed by two well
established investors - Harland and The InterCept Group (Nasdaq: ICPT)." said
Donny R. Jackson, chief executive officer of Netzee. "We've positioned Netzee
for growth by expanding our product line to offer customers both in-house and
service bureau based Internet banking solutions, enlarging our customer base to
include a number of credit unions and enhancing our customer service
capabilities with a new customer call center."
Netzee now has approximately 900 financial institutions under contract with more
than 750 actually installed on one or more of its online banking products.
ABOUT NETZEE
Netzee provides financial institutions with an integrated retail suite of
Internet-based products and services, including full-service Internet banking,
bill payment, cash management, online brokerage, Internet commerce services,
online check reordering, custom Web design and hosting, implementation and
marketing services. Netzee also provides financial institutions with an
integrated wholesale suite of products and services, including regulatory
reporting software and financial information tools. The company was founded in
1999 as a subsidiary of The InterCept Group, Inc. Netzee became a public company
in November 1999 with The InterCept Group presently maintaining a 29 percent
ownership interest. Netzee currently serves over 7,000 institutional customers
with one or more of its products. The company's stock is traded on the Nasdaq
National Market under the symbol "NETZ." Netzee can be found on the Internet at
www.netzee.com.
-more-
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SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
This release contains statements which constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These
statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact
regarding the intent, belief or expectations of Netzee and its management with
respect to, among other things: (1) trends affecting our operations, financial
condition and business; (2) our growth and operating strategies; (3) whether we
can successfully combine the operations we have acquired and operations we may
acquire, to create or continue improvements to our financial condition; (4) our
ability to develop, test, sell and support new, enhanced and integrated
products, services and features in a timely manner or at all; (5) our ability to
achieve our sales and revenue objectives; (6) the continued and future
acceptance of and demand for our products and services by our customers and
their customers; (7) our ability to raise additional capital if and when needed;
and 8) whether our current or future strategic marketing alliances will be
successful in generating sales or in improving our business, results of
operations or financial condition. The words "may," "will," "anticipate,"
"believe," "intend," "plan," "allow," "strategy" and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements
are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of
risks related to the integration of acquired assets and businesses; the
Company's ability to achieve, manage or maintain growth and execute its business
strategy successfully; its dependence on developing, testing and implementing
enhanced and new products and services; Netzee's ability to sell its products
and services to financial institution customers and their customers; Netzee's
ability to respond to competition; the volatility associated with
Internet-related companies; and various other factors discussed in detail in
Netzee's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the
"Factors that May Affect Our Future Results of Operations or Financial
Condition" section in Netzee's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31,
1999, as filed with the SEC on March 29, 2000, as amended on May 1, 2000, and
other periodic reports filed by Netzee under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended. Netzee undertakes no obligations to update or revise
forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of
unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.
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