ALEXANDRIA, Va., and SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 17, 1999 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Motley Fool and MicroCap Financial Services.com, Ltd. (OTCBB: MFSI) announced today a co-branding agreement whereby The Motley Fool UK (www.fool.co.uk) will provide a broad range of content on MFSI's UK based investment Web site, UK-iNvest.com (www.ukinvest.com). The site is being launched next month as the exclusive provider of investor information and services within the financial channel of Freeserve, the United Kingdom's largest and fastest-growing Internet Service Provider, with more than 1.35 million subscribers. MFSI's U.S. investment site, MicroCap1000.com (www.microcap1000.com), will also receive selected articles from The Motley Fool US.
Under the agreement, The Motley Fool UK will furnish UK-invest.com a daily mix of articles, with the distinctive "Fool" branding, educating UK investors on selecting stocks and funds, managing portfolios and retirement accounts, and understanding a range of tax and other investment issues.
"We're excited about making our unique style of financial expertise available to a new group of UK investors through ukinvest.com and Freeserve." said Bernie Dietz, Business Development Czar, The Motley Fool. "We're confident their users will enjoy and benefit from reading the latest offerings from The Motley Fool."
"The presence of The Motley Fool on both our UK and US sites adds content and name recognition of the highest caliber," said Stanley Hollander, co-CEO of MFSI. "The name Motley Fool is synonymous with substance and humor, a blend that will constitute one of the compelling features of our new UK site." UK-invest.com is scheduled for launch at the end of April. The site will feature interviews with leading investment managers and analysts commenting on stocks, funds, and market trends, as well as daily market news, up-to-the-minute quotes, historical performance charts, and a complete database on the UK's publicly traded companies. UK-iNvest.com will be free to registered users and generate revenue through eCommerce, including online brokerage, as well as through advertising and sponsored content. It is intended to have a complete e-trading system in place by the end of the second quarter of 1999.
About MicroCap Financial Services.com, Inc.: MFSI is an international multimedia provider of online financial news and information services to the investment community through its wholly owned subsidiaries MicroCap1000.com and UK-iNvest.com. MicroCap1000.com, which was fully launched in early October 1998, provides comprehensive, Internet-based electronic publishing of unique content on the U.S. MicroCap sector. Currently with more than 140,000 free subscribers, MicroCap1000.com is recognized for its cutting-edge news and commentary and was rated by Barron's (11/23/98) as one of the top financial Web sites. MFSI has initiated its global Internet expansion through an alliance with the UK's largest and fastest growing Internet service provider, Freeserve Limited, a subsidiary of Dixons Group, plc, the UK's largest electronics retailer. MicroCap1000.com, Ltd. is a subsidiary of MicroCap Financial Services.com, Inc.
About The Motley Fool: The Motley Fool's mission is to inform, amuse, and enrich individual investors across the world. Having started with 60 readers its first day in August 1994, The Fool now reaches millions of investors each month by providing financial information and strategies in different mediums: on its Web site at http://www.fool.com; via its four Simon & Schuster books, all New York Times bestsellers; through its weekly syndicated column currently appearing in more than 130 newspapers around the country; via "The Motley Fool Radio Show," a joint venture with Cox Radio that can be heard nationwide every Saturday; through regular commentary for Marketplace Radio; and on America Online (keyword: Fool). The Fool's first international site, Motley Fool UK, can be found at (http://www.fool.co.uk) and on America Online (keyword: FoolUK).
"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this news release that may be considered forward-looking statements could be subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those projected. These include uncertainties in the market, competition, legal, success of marketing efforts and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's SEC reports. The company assumes no obligation to update the information in this release.
For additional information regarding MicroCap Financial Services.com, Inc. and UK-iNvest.com, please contact Michael Jacobs at the Boca Raton, Florida office:
7280 W. Palmetto Park Road Suite 202 Boca Raton, FL 33433 561-417-8053 (tel) 561-417-8054 (fax) Email: mjacobs300@microcap1000.com
For additional information regarding MicroCap1000.com, please contact Lisa Taylor at the Los Angeles, California office:
2425 Olympic Boulevard Suite 660E Santa Monica, CA 90404 310-828-8838 (tel) 310-828-7218 (fax) Email: ltaylor@microcap1000.com
For additional information regarding MicroCap1000.com in the financial community, please contact:
Richard Carpenter or Jeff Lamberson At American Financial Communications 2420 "K" Street, Suite 220 Sacramento, CA 95816 916-552-6532 (tel) 916-552-6537 (fax)
For additional information on Motley Fool, please contact Julie Lewis at Fool Global Headquarters:
123 N. Pitt St. Alexandria, VA 22314 703-838-8381 (tel) 703-684-3603 (fax) JulieL@fool.com