LONDON, July 16, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- QXL ricardo plc ('QXL') (LSE:QXL.L) (Nasdaq:QXLC) (Frankfurt:QXL.F) today announced that its French subsidiary, QXL.fr SARL ('QXL.fr'), has acquired the operations of Aucland.fr ("Aucland"), the number two online auction site in France.Aucland.fr has over 450,000 members, approximately 300,000 listings currently on its site and transaction volumes for the June quarter have grown over 50% compared to the March quarter. The acquisition is expected to have a number of key benefits:
-- The combined business will provide members of both sites
with access to a much larger marketplace for buying and selling
-- The deal will strengthen the already established position of QXL.fr
-- The acquisition is expected to significantly accelerate QXL.fr's path
to profitability
-- The combination brings significant economies of scale to both
businesses
The aucland.fr site, which charges fees for its service, will continue to operate in its current form and the QXL.fr site will migrate to the Aucland.fr platform. Sylvie Fleury, currently Managing Director of Aucland.fr, will serve as the managing director for the combined operation upon completion.
Mark Zaleski, Chief Executive Officer of QXL ricardo, said: "This is a significant acquisition for QXL, consolidating our position in France, the third largest ecommerce market in Europe. Aucland has strong brand recognition, a first class auction platform that provides an excellent experience for the customer and has a strong management team. I am confident that the combined group, under the leadership of Sylvie Fleury, will extract cost synergies and capitalise on this growth opportunity."
Sylvie Fleury, Managing Director for Aucland.fr, commented: "It is very exciting to become part of QXL, which offers Aucland the economies of scale and European reach to help us to continue to grow the business and deliver the best customer experience. I look forward to working with Mark and his team."
Aucland was founded in April 1999 and is a part of the Europ@web Group. The assets of the business (which have a net book value of EUR0.00) are being acquired for a nominal undisclosed fee.
About QXL ricardo plc
QXL ricardo plc ("QXL") is a pan-European online auction community, conducting online auctions in eleven languages and twelve currencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week in an efficient, convenient and entertaining environment. QXL enables buyers to bid on merchandise and services from across Western Europe which are sold by QXL members and merchants. QXL also enables sellers to locate and trade with buyers in new geographic markets. A wide selection of merchandise and services is available on its online auction community, ranging from computer software and hardware, consumer electronics, household appliances and collectibles to travelrelated items and sports equipment. QXL is a publicly traded company with its shares listed on the Official List of the United Kingdom Listing Authority, the Nasdaq National Market and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
QXL provides access to the QXL trading community in: U.K. www.qxl.com; Germany www.ricardo.de; France www.qxl.fr; Italy www.qxl.it; Netherlands www.ricardo.nl; Norway www.qxl.no; Denmark www.qxl.dk; Spain www.qxl.es; Poland www.allegro.pl; Sweden www.qxl.se; Finland www.qxl.fi; Switzerland www.ricardo.ch
This press release may contain forwardlooking statements that relate to the Company's plans, objectives, estimates and goals. The Company's business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with: funding requirements; acquisitions; only having a limited operating history; regulation of auctions and the Internet; probable variability in the Company's quarterly operating results; the Company's results of operations not being indicative of future performance; significant losses being incurred as a result of expansion of the Company's business; dependence on growth of online consumertoconsumer commerce market; risks associated with development and growth of the Company's foreign language web sites; intense competition; failure to develop the Company's brand; failure to expand the Company's systems; risks associated with managing internal growth and retaining and recruiting personnel; international expansion; online commerce security; risks associated with not developing new services, features and functions; risks associated with intellectual property rights; fraudulent activity of our members and suppliers; and seasonality. These and other risks and uncertainties, which are described in more detail in the Company's Registration Statement dated October 7, 1999, on Form F1 and Annual Report dated October 1, 2001 on Form 20F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in the Company's prospectuses and listing particulars filed with the U.K. Listing Authority and the Registrar of Companies in England and Wales (the most recent being dated May 22, 2001), in the German Sales and Listing Prospectus dated October 23, 2000 filed with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (as supplemented on November 10, 2000), could cause the Company's actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any of these forwardlooking statements.