SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT
TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of report (date of earliest event reported) April 1, 2000 through May 31,
2000
E-PAWN.COM, INC
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
NEVADA 33-2533-LA 87-0435741
(State or Other Jurisdiction Commission File I.R.S. Employer
of Incorporation) Number Identification No.
Merrill Lynch Tower
2855 University Drive, Suite 200
Coral Springs, Florida 33065
TEL. 954-575-7296
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(Address of Principal Executive Offices and Telephone)
WASATCH INTERNATIONAL CORP.
1301 N. Congress Avenue, Suite 135, Boynton Beach, Florida 33426
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(Former Name and Address)
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The Private Securities Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor"
for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this Form 8-K
(as well as information included in the Exhibits) contains statements that are
forward looking, such as those relating to consummation of the transaction,
anticipated future revenue of the companies and success of current product
offerings. Such forward looking information involves important risks and
uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future
and, accordingly, such results may differ materially from those expressed in any
forward looking statements.
ITEM 1. CHANGES IN CONTROL OF REGISTRANT.
Not applicable.
ITEM 2. ACQUISITION OR DISPOSITION OF ASSETS
On April 14, 2000, the Company announced and confirmed that it would issue
to shareholders of record a stock dividend of shares of two of the Company's
subsidiaries. The Company will grant the special dividend of two shares of
common stock of UbuyNetwork.com, Inc. for each of the Company's common stock
that is held of record as of April 18, 2000. The Company also announced a stock
dividend to shareholders of record as of May 1, 2000 of common stock of its
subsidiary Ubuyhomes.com, Inc. for each share of common stock of the Company. A
copy of the news release for these stock dividends is attached as Exhibit A.
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On April 18, 2000, the Company announced that the majority shareholders of
the Company, Swiss Arctic Traders, Ltd. and Fortuna Holdings Limited, have
agreed to assign all of their dividend shares of Ubuynetwork.com, Inc. and
Ubuyhomes.com, Inc. back to the Company. The Company, therefore, will retain
majority control of its subsidiaries by retention of the nearly two-thirds
(2/3rds) of common shares that would have been distributed pursuant to the stock
dividends announced on April 14, 2000. A copy of the news release is attached as
Exhibit B.
On May 9, 2000, the Company agreed to purchase nineteen percent (19%) of
the outstanding stock in Shopper's Online, Inc., a New Jersey based e-commerce
Internet portal site, and nineteen percent (19%) of Freebees, Inc., a New Jersey
Internet marketing company. The Company agreed to issue 1,000,000 shares of its
common stock to Shopper's Online, Inc. and 1,000,000 shares of its common stock
to Freebees, Inc. in exchange for the nineteen percent (19%) interest in the
respective companies. A copy of the news release is attached as Exhibit C.
During April 2000, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized the
issuance of 42,650,000 shares of common stock to be used and delivered in
connection with various acquisitions of interests in companies and investments
in companies and for other general corporate purposes which are intended to
benefit the Company. Each of the transactions for which shares are authorized is
evidenced by an agreement, but the closing of the transactions are respectively
subject to various conditions and due diligence. The certificates representing
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the authorized shares will be held in escrow by counsel for the Company until
all conditions have been satisfied and the transaction is closed. In the event
that the transaction does not close, the shares will be returned to the transfer
agent and registrar who will cancel the certificates and the shares will become
part of the authorized but unissued shares of the Company's capital stock.
ITEM 3. BANKRUPTCY OR RECEIVERSHIP.
Not Applicable.
ITEM 4. CHANGES IN REGISTRANT'S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT.
Not applicable.
ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS
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On April 3, 2000, the Company announced that it had entered into an
agreement with Loyalty Card Holdings Limited to cooperate in the marketing of a
global Internet credit card developed by Loyalty Card Holdings Limited. The
Company will market the card as a UBUY Smart Card which will incorporate
features of credit cards, phone cards, and bank money access cards, as well as
other services. On April 14, 2000, the Company concluded its agreement with
Loyalty Card Holdings Limited to acquire the rights to the smart card technology
in exchange for granting to Loyalty Card Holdings Limited 5,000,000 shares of
the Company's common stock and a twenty percent (20%) interest in the equity of
the certain of the Company's subsidiaries, namely, Ubuycard.com, Inc., a Nevada
corporation; Ubuynetwork.com, Inc., a Nevada corporation; Ubuynetwork.co.uk PLC,
a U.K. public limited company; and E-Pawn.co.uk PLC, a U.K. public limited
company. The Company also agreed to arrange financing of up to $12 million in
order to support the launch of the UBUY card and the development of the European
subsidiaries. A copy of the news release on the launch of the UBUY smart card is
attached as Exhibit D.
On May 17, 2000, the Company announced that it had entered into a marketing
agreement with Marlborough International PLC of Dublin, Ireland. The Company's
subsidiary, Ubuynetwork.com, Inc. and Ubuynetwork.co.uk PLC will market certain
of Marlborough's online employment services, including its "FILLTHEJOBS.com"
service through the Ubuyjobs.com website. The Company and Marlbough intend to
look for other avenues of cooperation and synergistic business opportunities. A
copy of the news release is attached as Exhibit E.
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On May 18, 2000, the Company announced that it had formed a joint
venture with Asset Investment Management 1984 S.A., a company located in Nyon,
Switzerland ("AIM"). Under the terms of the venture agreement, AIM will
undertake to develop and operate the E-Pawn Global Partner Program business
model for the establishment of companies in Austria, Switzerland, Norway,
Denmark, and Sweden. AIM will be responsible for introducing the E-Pawn Global
Partner Program in these countries. This program provides for the selection of a
local investor for the constituent companies, and the placement of shares of the
companies in the public securities markets for the respective countries. One of
the principal shareholders of AIM is an affiliate of Swiss Arctic Traders, Ltd.,
a major shareholder of the Company. A copy of the news release announcing the
joint venture is attached as Exhibit F.
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ITEM 6. CHANGE IN DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.
On April 10, 2000, the directors elected Raymond E. Winter as an additional
director of the Company. Mr. Winter is the chairman of Loyalty Card Limited, a
Bahamian company, which developed a smart card in association with its
subsidiary company, Loyalty Card Services Limited of the United Kingdom. Mr.
Winter will also serve as a director of subsidiary companies, namely,
E-Pawn.co.uk PLC, Ubuynetwork.co.uk PLC, Ubuycard.com, Inc. and Ubuynetwork.com,
Inc.
On April 17, 2000, the company elected Douglas H. Forde as a director. On
May 8, 2000, the directors elected Mr. Forde as chairman as the board of
directors. Mr. Forde is a principal shareholder and director of CeleXx
Corporation.
On May 8, 2000, the Company announced the resignation of Mary Duncan as
Secretary. The directors, by unanimous consent, elected Jennifer Martin of Coral
Springs, Florida, as corporate secretary.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS.
Not applicable.
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ITEM 8: CHANGE IN FISCAL YEAR.
Not Applicable.
EXHIBITS
Exhibit A: Press release dated April 14, 2000, announcing stock dividends.
Exhibit B: Press release dated April 18, 2000, announcing retention
of control of subsidiaries.
Exhibit C: Press release dated May 9, 2000, announcing the Company's intent
to purchase nineteen percent (19%) interest in Shopper's Online, Inc. and
nineteen percent (19%) interest in Freebees, Inc.
Exhibit D: Press release dated April 3, 2000, announcing an agreement with
Loyalty Card Holdings Limited.
Exhibit E: Press release dated May 17, 2000, announcing a marketing
agreement with Marlborough International PLC of Dublin, Ireland.
Exhibit F: Press release dated May 18, 2000, announcing a joint venture
agreement with Swiss Asset Investment Manage 1984 S.A.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Date: May 31, 2000
E-PAWN.COM, INC.
(Formerly Wasatch International Corporation)
By:_____________________________
Eli Leibowitz, Director and
President
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EXHIBIT A
FRIDAY APRIL 14, 11:01 AM EASTERN TIME
COMPANY PRESS RELEASE
E-PAWN.COM, INC. CONFIRMS 2 FOR 1 DIVIDEND DATE FOR UBUYNETWORK.COM INC.
ENGLEWOOD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--APRIL 14, 2000--E-PAWN.COM INC., (OTCBB:EPWN -
NEWS) WWW.E-PAWN.COM confirms the spin-off of ubuynetwork.com, inc.,
www.ubuynetwork.com, as a special dividend for shareholders of record April 18,
2000. Each E-Pawn shareholder will receive a special stock dividend of 2 newly
issued shares of Ubuynetwork.Com, Inc. for each share of E-Pawn they hold as of
April 18, 2000. Additionally, E-Pawn will also spin off Ubuyhomes.Com, Inc. as a
special stock dividend for shareholders of record May 1, 2000. E-Pawn
shareholders will receive 2 shares of Ubuyhomes.Com, Inc. for each share of
E-Pawn they hold as of that date.
E-Pawn also confirmed the appointment of Raymond Winter to the Board of
Directors of Ubuynetwork.Co.UK, its newly formed United Kingdom subsidiary.
Winter was also appointed Managing Director of UbuyCard.Com, Inc., E-Pawn's
wholly owned subsidiary which will roll out in Europe a smart card which will be
the first global credit card to handle transactions in Euro Dollars "EURO'S",
the official currency of the "EU" European Union. The European community
consists of approximately 350 million consumers. The UbuyCard will be used as a
credit card, phone card, and bank money access card (ATM), while at the same
time featuring state of the art anti-fraud protection technology. The UbuyCard
functions with individual fingerprint recognition technology, thereby
eliminating credit card fraud.
The UbuyCard will be underwritten by a major multi-national financial
institution. The planned launch of the UbuyCard is scheduled for late June 2000.
E-PAWN.COM is a multi-faceted Internet portal, software developer and online
auction company that through one of its many e-commerce sites,
pawnshopauctionline http://www.pawnshopauctionline.com competes head-to-head
with EBAY (NASDAQ: EBAY - NEWS) and other e-commerce companies in the Internet
auction market. This will continue to be the main focus of the company's
efforts. In addition, e-pawn.com is in the process of acquiring and operating
several businesses under its ubuynetwork http://www.ubuynetwork.com brand name.
The company's ubuynetwork ultimately will comprise more than 200
business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-commerce sites around the world.
The Private Securities Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for
forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this Press Release
(as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements
made or to be made) contains statements that are forward looking, such as those
relating to consummation of the transaction, anticipated future revenue of the
companies and success of current product offerings. Such forward looking
information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly
affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may
differ materially from those expressed in any forward looking statements.
CONTACT:
E-Pawn Com. Inc., Coral Springs, Fla.
Eli Leibowitz, President
or
Public Relations
Vanguard Communications Group Ltd.,
954/227-0483 OR [email protected]
or
UbuyNetwork
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EXHIBIT B
TUESDAY APRIL 18, 12:03 PM EASTERN TIME
COMPANY PRESS RELEASE
E-PAWN.COM, INC. TO RETAIN MAJORITY STAKE IN UBUYNETWORK AND AFFILIATED
UBUYNETWORK.COM BUSINESSES
ENGLEWOOD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--APRIL 18, 2000--E-PAWN.COM,INC. (OTCBB:EPWN -
NEWS), WWW.E-PAWN.COM, announced today that its majority shareholders have
assigned their dividend rights in favor of E-Pawn.Com, Inc. This action will
enable the company to retain MAJORITY CONTROL OF APPROXIMATELY 66% OF THE
DIVIDEND SHARES OF UBUYNETWORK.COM AND UBUYHOMES.COM. WWW.UBUYHOMES.COM E-Pawn's
President Eli Leibowitz said, "All stockholders of record April 18, 2000 will
receive 2 shares of Ubuynetwork.Com, WWW.UBUYNETWORK.COM, for each share of
E-Pawn owned. The company has been successful in obtaining the support of the
majority stockholders and therefore E-Pawn will remain in control of the
UbuyNetwork.Com." Leibowitz also explained, "This is a significant event that
will enhance shareholder value and strengthen the company's balance sheet. The
company's global expansion plan is building the UbuyNetwork.Com brand name into
an internationally recognized Internet marketing company." The Private
Securities Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking
statements. Certain information included in this Press Release (as well as
information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to
be made) contains statements that are forward looking, such as those relating to
consummation of the transaction, anticipated future revenue of the companies and
success of current product offerings. Such forward looking information involves
important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated
results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ materially from
those expressed in any forward looking statements.
CONTACT:
E-Pawn.Cm Inc., Coral Springs, Fla.
Eli Leibowitz, President, Public Relations
or
Vanguard Communications Group Ltd.,
954/227-0483 [email protected]
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EXHIBIT C
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TUESDAY MAY 9, 9:55 AM EASTERN TIME
COMPANY PRESS RELEASE
E-PAWN.COM, INC. PURCHASES 19% INTEREST IN SHOPPER'S ONLINE AND FREEBEES, INC.
ENGLEWOOD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MAY 9, 2000--E-PAWN.COM (OTCBB:EPWN - NEWS)
WWW.E-PAWN.COM announced today it purchased a 19% interest in Shopper's Online,
a New Jersey based e-commerce portal.
The investment will give E-Pawn a 19%
stake in the company. Shopper's Online, Inc., a privately held company is
currently being acquired by WCM Capital Corporation (NASDAQSC:WCMC)
www.wcmcapital.com.
Shopper's Online currently operates an online shopping
portal www.shoppersonline.com an incubator for the development of business to
business e-commerce. FreeBees is currently developing a giveaway, fulfillment
and refund website to be linked to Shopper's Online which will allow Internet
consumers to participate in promotional and redemption programs offered by
various companies operating in both e-commerce and brick and mortar retail
businesses. "We believe that this investment in Shopper's Online is a step in
the right direction as we will be aggressively seeking other strategic partners
and alliances for both e-pawn.com and the ubuynetwork.com www.ubuynetwork.com in
the future," said Eli Leibowitz, president of E-Pawn.com, Inc. E-Pawn.com is a
multi-faceted portal, software developer and online auction company that
recently announced plans for the global expansion of E-Pawn.com into several
European markets. The expansion program provides for E-Pawn.com, UbuyNetwork.com
and related online auction and barter sites www.pawnshopauctionline.com and
www.swappage.com as well as licensing of its software to Exchequer Investments
Ltd., a privately held UK based company. Exchequer will develop and operate
E-Pawn.com in several European marketplaces, with strategic local partners
providing working capital, local expertise and management to launch E-Pawn.com
www.e-pawn.com throughout europe. the first launch will be e-pawn.uk.com in the
United Kingdom, to be followed by Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland,
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands and Ireland before year end. The overall
objective is to take the subsidiary companies public in each country. The
Private Securities Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for
forward-looking statements. Certain information included in the Press Release
(as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements
made or to be made) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as those
relating to consummation of the transaction, anticipated future revenue of the
companies and success of current product offerings. Such forward-looking
information involved important risks and uncertainties that could significantly
affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may
differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements.
CONTACT:
E-Pawn.com, Inc., Coral Springs, Fla.
Eli Leibowitz, President
201/568-3828
or
Vanguard Communications Group, Coral Springs, Fla.
954/227-0483
[email protected]
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EXHIBIT D
Monday April 3, 10:20 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
E-PAWN.COM INC. TO LAUNCH FIRST GLOBAL INTERNET "UBUY" SMART CARD
ENGLEWOOD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--APRIL 3, 2000--E-PAWN.COM INC. (OTCBB:EPWN -
NEWS) WWW.E-PAWN.COM announced today that it has signed an agreement with
Loyalty Card Holdings Limited ("LCL") to launch a new global Internet credit
card.
E-Pawn.com will exploit the Smart Card technology and strategic alliances that
have been developed by LCL'S subsidiary, Loyalty Card Services Limited, based in
the United Kingdom.
The UBUY Smart Card will be used as a credit card, phone card, and bank money
access card (ATM), while at the same time featuring state of the art anti-fraud
protection technology. The UBUY Smart Card functions with individual fingerprint
recognition technology, thereby eliminating credit card fraud. The card will be
marketed under the brand name www.ubuynetwork.com. The UBUY Smart Card will be
the first global credit card issued in Euro's the official currency of the (EU)
European Union. The European community consists of approximately 350 million
consumers in 18 countries.
Ubuy Card will be underwritten by a major multi national financial institution.
The planned launch of the Ubuy Card is scheduled for late June 2000.
Mr. Raymond E. Winter, Chairman of LCL, will join the Board of Directors of
E-Pawn.Com Inc. and will head up the European operations of E-Pawn.Co.UK and
UbuyNetwork.Co.UK as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Winter brings many years of
experience in telecommunications and marketing of credit cards for multi
national corporations.
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E-Pawn.Com Inc. is a multi-faceted portal, software developer and online auction
company that recently announced plans for the global expansion of E-PAWN.COM
into several European markets. The expansion program provides for E-PAWN.COM,
UBUYNETWORK, http://www.ubuynetwork.com and related online auction and barter
sites http://www.pawnshopauctionline.com http://www.swappage.com and its most
recent production http://www.bigticketworld.com.
Colonel's International, Inc. is a holding company for The Colonel's Truck
Accessories, Inc. The Colonel's Rugged Liner Inc., and The Colonel's Brainerd
International Raceway, Inc. which will be changed to E-Pawn.Com International
Raceway. COLO'S related web sites are as follows: http://www.ruggedliner.com
http://www.groundforce.com
The Private Securities Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for
forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this Press Release
(as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements
made or to be made) contains statements that are forward looking, such as those
relating to consummation of the transaction, anticipated future revenue of the
companies and success of current product offerings. Such forward looking
information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly
affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may
differ materially from those expressed in any forward looking statements.
CONTACT:
UbuyNetwork.Com U.K.
Ray Winter, 011 44 279655599
EMAIL: [email protected]
or
E-Pawn Com. Inc., Coral Springs, Fla.
Eli Leibowitz, President
or
Vanguard Communications Group Ltd.
Public Relations
954/227-0483
email: [email protected]
<PAGE>
EXHIBIT E
WEDNESDAY 17 MAY 9:00 AM
COMPANY PRESS RELEASE
E-PAWN.COM INC., ANNOUNCES ONLINE MARKETING AGREEMENT WITH MARLBOROUGH
INTERNATIONAL PLC.
CORAL SPRINGS FL. (BUSINESS WIRE) MAY 17, 2000 E-PAWN.COM INC. WWW.E-PAWN.COM
(OTCBB:EPWN) Announced today that it has been successful in concluding a
marketing agreement for its ubuynetwork.com subsidiary www.ubuynetwork.com to
promote and market Marlborough International PLC www.marlborough.ie a leading
international employment and support services provider. marlborough's news
release may be seen http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/000517/123/a742u.html
Marlborough is publicly traded on the London and Irish Stock |Exchanges. The
company is headquartered in Dublin Ireland and operates internationally from
locations in Ireland, United Kingdom and Australia. Marlborough specializes in
technology placement services, executive search, contract staffing, staff
outsourcing and employee management for multi-national companies on a regional
basis.
Ubuynetwork will market Marlborough's new B2B online employment service "FILL
THE JOBS. COM" via ubuyjobs.com ( www.ubuyjobs.com ).
David McKenna C.E.O, Marlborough International explained, "this innovative new
program is designed to allow all recruitment companies access to the largest
multi-national employers worldwide." he also added, "effectively, this will
enable independent recruitment agencies instant access to prime employment
opportunities for their clients through www.fillthejob.com a virtual employment
fair. at the same time employers will be able to interview potential employees
by selecting from a file search of resumes on the companies comprehensive online
data base consisting of 100,000 plus active job candidates."
Albert Reynolds, Chairman of E-PAWN's advisory committee commented, "This
alliance will be mutually beneficial and provide excellent opportunity for both
companies to expand internationally."
Eli Leibowitz, E-pawn's President said, "By marketing the online recruitment
service via the ubuynetwork the company will enhance its ability to generate
revenue for in its core business as well as demonstrating its appeal and
abilities to attract established businesses to its rapidly growing network of
goods and services online."
E-pawn has created and developed a multitude of e-commerce web sites to include:
Ubuy network http://www.ubuynetwork.com ,an auction line
http://www.pawnshopauctionline.com , a buy sell, trade or barter site
http://www.swappage.com and the e-pawn store front with over 3000 interesting
items from gifts to imported clocks, paintings and much more. E-pawn has
developed a proprietary e-commerce software designed with simplicity in mind
www.bazoo2000.com . The target market is small to medium size business owners
with little or no knowledge of electronic storefront applications who are in
need of practical e-commerce solutions. E-pawn's software is simple to install
and the storefront administration can be controlled by an individual without any
knowledge of basic html. the appearance of the storefront is completely
customizable; it can be integrated into an existing web site or used as a
stand-alone site. however, for those requiring a quick solution, the standard
e-pawn storefront is supplied ready to use with a number of variations to
include color, font and logos. the software is user friendly, versatile and cost
effective. The software can handle tens of thousands of products including tax
and shipping costs, discounting, e-mail notification, banner ads, search tools
and other online transaction verification modules. The software will be
available in six different languages. e-pawn plans to enter the uk, swiss,
german, french, dutch and scandinavian markets later this year.
The Private Securities Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for
forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this Press Release
(as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements
made or to be made) contains statements that are forward looking, such as those
relating to consummation of the transaction, anticipated future revenue of the
companies and success of current product offerings. Such forward looking
information involved important risks and uncertainties that could significantly
affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may
differ materially from those expressed in any forward looking statements.
contact :
Eli Leibowitz, President E-pawn.com, Inc.
Vanguard Communications Group LTD,
954-227-0483
[email protected]
<PAGE>
EXHIBIT F
THURSDAY MAY 18, 9:57 AM EASTERN TIME
COMPANY PRESS RELEASE
E-PAWN.COM, INC. FORMS PARTNERSHIP WITH SWISS INVESTMENT COMPANY
CORAL SPRINGS, FLA.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MAY 18, 2000--E-PAWN.COM INC., (OTCBB:EPWN
- NEWS) WWW.EPAWN.COM announced that it has finalized a partnership agreement
with Swiss Asset Investment Management 1984 SA (AIM) located in Nyan Switzerland
to operate, market and promote E-Pawn.com and the UbuyNetwork.com businesses in
the following countries including: Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavian
countries of Norway, Denmark and Sweden. AIM is a Swiss based investment
management company that was established in 1984 and holds a substantial
investment in E-Pawn. The company will develop and operate the E-Pawn businesses
in those countries. Christopher Morris, Managing Director of AIM, is a 58 year
old executive who has considerable experience in high technology and computer
related fields. Morris has spent more than 25 years with Digital Equipment
Corporation developing their multi-billion dollar European computer business.
More recently he has been involved in the marketing of telecommunication
services in Europe and the management of AIM. Christopher Morris, Managing
Director of AIM said: "We are optimistic about the opportunities presented by
the introduction of E-pawn.com and the Ubuynetwork.com www.ubuynetwork.com
businesses in Switzerland and Austria. Particularly exciting are the future
prospects in the Scandinavian markets, where a high percentage of the population
is computer literate and have access to the Internet thus creating an ideal
market for the E-Pawn business to business concepts of online auctions and the
purchase of goods and services via Internet." "E-Pawn has observed the rapid
growth of the online auction business in Europe which recently resulted in the
UK based QXL.com announcing the agreed $1 billion takeover of their German
competitor Ricardo.de. The deal was reported in the London Financial Times
yesterday as the largest E-Commerce transaction in Europe underlines the rapid
growth of the online auction business in this region," said, Doug Forde Chairman
of E-Pawn. He also added, "It is noteworthy that this transaction occurred less
than two months after QXL.com acquired Bidlet a Scandinavian rival for $508
million. The industry consolidation in Europe where QXL.COM now has
approximately 1.3 million subscribers and EBAY (NASDAQ:EBAY - NEWS) has
approximately 966,000 European users, leads us to believe that we are headed in
the right direction. Our plan is to enter these lucrative markets by developing
E-Pawn.Com and the UbuyNetwok in these regions in conjunction with our local
partners. We believe that our plan to build its market share over the next three
years should place the company in a good position to service the market of more
than 100 million Europeans who will shop online by the year 2004. These figures
were reported in a new research program by Datamonitor Market Analysis Group
that examined attitudes of consumers in 5 European countries." E-Pawn.com is a
multi-faceted portal, software developer and online auction company that
recently announced plans for the global expansion of E-Pawn.com into several
European markets. The expansion program provides for E-Pawn.com, UbuyNetwork.com
and related online auction and barter sites WWW.PAWNSHOPAUCTIONLINE.COM AND
WWW.SWAPPAGE.COM as well as licensing of its software to Exchequer Investments
Ltd., a privately held UK based company. Exchequer will develop and operate
E-Pawn.com in several European marketplaces, with strategic local partners
providing working capital, local expertise and management to launch E-pawn.com
www.E-pawn.com throughout Europe. The first launch will be E-PAWN.UK.COM in the
United Kingdom, to be followed by Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland,
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands and Ireland. The overall objective being to
take the subsidiary companies public in each country. The Private Securities
Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements.
Certain information included in the Press Release (as well as information
included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made)
contains statements that are forward looking, such as those relating to
consummation of the transaction, anticipated future revenue of the companies and
success of current product offerings. Such forward looking information involved
important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated
results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ materially from
those expressed in any forward looking statements.
CONTACT:
E-Pawn.com, Inc.
Eli Leibowitz, President
201/568-3828
or
Vanguard Communications Group, Coral Springs, Fla.
954/227-0483
[email protected]
or
AIM Contact:
Christopher Morris, 011 41 22 369 9096
