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EXHIBIT 99.1
[LOGO OF ONVIA.com]
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Media Contact: Gretchen Sorensen Analyst/Investor Contact: Mike Jacobsen
Onvia.com Onvia.com
(206) 373-9082 (206) 373-9173
[email protected] [email protected]
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ONVIA AGREES TO ACQUIRE
SMALL BUSINESS WEB HOSTING COMPANY
Merger with Zanova Inc. Expands Service Offering, Deepens Customer
Relationships, Diversifies Revenue Stream
SEATTLE - June 12, 2000 - Onvia.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONVI), the leading
business-to-business exchange connecting small businesses, today announced that
it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Zanova Inc. for approximately
2.54 million shares of Onvia common stock. Based on the Friday, June 9, 2000
closing price of $8.44 per share, the consideration for the transaction is
approximately $21 million.
Zanova offers a suite of Web-based applications that allow small businesses
to build professional commerce-enabled Websites. The combination will allow
Onvia to provide small businesses with powerful tools to create customized
eBusinesses. More significantly, it will give small businesses immediate access
to Onvia's liquid marketplaces.
"The merger with Zanova is consistent with our strategy to create long-term
shareholder value by broadening our offerings and bringing subscription-based,
high-margin revenue streams to the Onvia business model," said Glenn Ballman,
CEO and founder of Onvia. "This combination will allow us to offer a compelling
new set of services to our customers and give hosted customers instant access to
more than 450,000 small businesses.
"Creating, hosting and linking customer Web sites to our marketplaces will
deepen our customer relationships and is a major step toward making Onvia the
only place small businesses need to go to transact business on the Web," said
Ballman.
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Onvia & Zanova, page 2
Upon full integration, Onvia will seamlessly link its Request for Quote and
Business Auctions exchanges to small business customers' Web sites. One of the
ways the company plans to introduce the integrated offering is through its
premier alliances with small business associations, chambers of commerce and
strategic business partners.
"Recently, we conducted a study that tells us that small business spending
on online transactions and purchases is on a major upswing," said Andy Bose,
chief executive officer of Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc., an
authority on the small business market. "However, the study also revealed that
small businesses are skeptical when it comes to launching eCommerce sites and
selling online because they perceive that they won't find customers for their
products and services."
"We're addressing one of the largest challenges small businesses face in
executing an effective eCommerce strategy - finding customers," said Kristen
Hamilton, Onvia's chief strategy officer. "Currently, many small businesses put
up a Web site and hope for the best. In contrast, Onvia's hosted small
businesses will be able to immediately access a large number of customers and
conduct eCommerce through an easy to use Web-based application, all without
leaving their own site."
Unlike other Web hosting businesses that aggregate large numbers of sites
for free, the Zanova solution, differentiated by its instant access to the Onvia
marketplace, is a fee-based subscription model that drives monthly recurring
revenues. Onvia said it expects the merger to be immediately accretive to
earnings and to enhance gross margins.
"We are excited about joining forces with Onvia as this merger provides
just the solution small business owners have been looking for," said Chris
Spinella, chairman and co-founder of Zanova. "We have focused on leveling the
playing field for small business owners, giving them the tools and support
necessary to find success on the Internet."
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Onvia & Zanova, page 3
With a connection to the Onvia marketplaces, Zanova customers will have
instant access to a much larger customer base and new ways of transacting
business. "Onvia's customer base, strong cash reserves and marketing channels,
coupled with Zanova's superior suite of Web-based applications, will create
greater shareholder value for the combined company," Spinella added.
The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the
merger. The companies expect to complete the transaction, which is structured as
a merger and is being accounted for as a purchase, by early July. The completion
of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
Live Conference Call Webcast
Onvia will Webcast its conference call discussing the Zanova merger today
at 1:30 p.m. PDT (4:30 p.m. EDT).
To register for the Webcast, visit the "Investor Relations" section at
www.corporate.onvia.com and click on the microphone icon. For those unable to
participate during the live Webcast, the call will be archived on the Web site
for future reference.
About Onvia.com
Onvia.com, headquartered in Seattle, is the leading business-to-business
exchange connecting small business buyers and sellers. The Onvia exchange is
designed to help small businesses succeed by providing a single online
destination where entrepreneurs can buy, sell and bid on services and products,
exchange valuable news, product and service information and access productivity
tools.
About Zanova Inc.
Headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ, Zanova Inc. simplifies the creation of custom
e-business solutions by delivering leading edge applications and best in class
services to small businesses. Zanova offers a suite of Web-based applications
that allow businesses to build professional commerce-enabled Websites.
To the extent this news release contains forward-looking statements, such
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause the
company's actual results to differ materially from anticipated results. These
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those associated with
the company's limited operating history, the increasingly competitive nature of
the company's business, the ability of the company to continue to develop its
brand and other risk factors disclosed in the company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
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