ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 24, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- IDS Worldwide Solutions, Inc. (Pink Sheets:IDWS) announced today that its 995ad.com (http://www.995ad.com) portal, one of the fastest growing portals on the Internet, has signed an agreement with automobile industry leader Edmunds.com. Edmunds.com is the most respected car site on the Internet, where consumers get unbiased information and research before making their automobile purchase. Car Trends shows that over 70 percent of all car buyers start their search on the Internet before making a buying decision.
Under the signed agreement with Edmunds.com, (http://www.edmunds.com) IDS portal 995ad.com (http://www.995ad.com) will join with Edmunds.com to provide live, updated information on the Car Section of 995ad.com to include all research, editorials, consumer reviews and ratings, price comparisons, road tests, and automobile rebate programs.
IDS CEO, Patrick Downs stated, "IDS is very pleased that our portal 995ad.com has joined forces with an industry leader like Edmunds.com. IDS portal 995ad.com, within its first quarter of launching, has signed more than 12,900 auto dealers and has surpassed 550,000 cars on the site, ranking 995ad.com as the second-largest automobile site on the Internet. IDS (www.ids-worldwide.com) believes that this agreement with Edmunds.com is a significant validation of our business model by the most respected automobile research site for consumers considering an automobile purchase."
IDS reported that consumer traffic to the 995ad.com (http://www.995ad.com) site has increased more than 5,800 percent in the past quarter. 995ad.com's Car Section continually ranks in the top-three auto sites searched on Google (http://www.google.com, search "used cars"). The Car Section of 995ad.com has been able to achieve rapid penetration of the online automobile sales industry by providing equal or superior product as the leading online retailers, such as eBay Motors, Autotrader Online and Cars.com, while giving consumers and auto dealers up to 500 percent in reduced ad costs.
The industry segment of the Internet consisting of large portals like 995ad.com, such as Yahoo, MSN, Google and eBay are currently in an acquisition race for content. Earlier this year, eBay paid more than $415 million in cash to acquire Rent.com. Rent.com enables apartment complexes to advertise their properties on their site in return for a $375 fee for every leased generated by visits to the Rent.com site. Rent.com claims over 12 million ads per month on the site. IDS portal 995ad.com will allow apartment complexes to advertise their properties for only $9.95 per month and even enable apartment leasing offices live interaction consisting of chat, application push, and floor plans in real time to prospective tenants. IDS believes that, because of the significant economic and customer service advantages of listing their properties in the Real Estate section of 995ad.com, many apartment complexes may pursue a dual listing on 995ad.com at the same time keeping their listing on some of the other online apartment sites.
In light of the current valuations being paid for online portal content and the rapid growth of 995ad.com, the board of directors of IDS Worldwide Solutions, Inc. has approved a major stock buyback of the common stock of IDS of 5,000,000 shares. The company believes the stock is extremely undervalued based on the current value of 995ad.com (http://www.995ad.com) and the 2,600 percent increase this quarter in our Homeland Security Division. This stock buyback is in addition to approximately 400,000 shares the company has bought in the open market in August. This buyback is the equivalent of 50 percent of the total public stock float of IDS. Patrick Downs, CEO of IDS stated, "IDS believes this buyback is a bargain at current prices levels and a will add tremendous value for our shareholders." Online portals such as 995ad.com have the advantage over most companies by virtue of carrying no inventory and no warehouse costs. IDS has the further advantage that, unlike most public companies, it has no debt to service.
IDS plans for 995ad.com is to achieve the same market-leading penetration of the boat, truck, motorcycle, real estate and apartment complex industry as it has in its first quarter of operation in the automobile and travel industry.
For further information: http://www.995ad.com http://www.ids-worldwide.com
Forward-Looking Statements
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