DESOTO, Texas, Aug. 31, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- eTelcharge.com, Inc., (the "Company") (Pink Sheets:ETLC) www.etelcharge.com, a financial diversified merchant service company, is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a Letter of Intent ("LOI") to merge eTelcharge.com with The American Home Market Corporation ("AHM"), a privately held company with over $100 million in annual revenues. With the closing of the merger, Ray Jackson, President and CEO of AHM, is slated to become the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of eTelcharge.com. The closing of this transaction is anticipated to be on or before November 1, 2005. The Letter of Intent sets forth certain conditions including the completion of due diligence by both parties and the signing of a definitive agreement.
"This significant transaction will result in a company that is at the forefront of the eCommerce industry -- with a stronger presence into integrating our financial services in the home of the consumers we are seeking," said Carl O. Sherman, President and CEO of eTelcharge.com, Inc., "As a result of the combination, eTelcharge is better positioned to launch any of our innovative payment options with an instant base to test the market." American Home Market serves as the closing agents for any home sold by HUD in 42 counties throughout the State of Texas. "The acquisition of AHM represents a momentous opportunity for us to increase our registered users and we are very blessed to have them join forces with eTelcharge.com, Inc. The synergy between eTelcharge.com and AHM's client base notably improves our ability to reach a much broader demographic for our product lines, including a new eTelcharge pre-paid credit card," Mr. Sherman concluded.
Ray Jackson, President and CEO of AHM Corporation stated, "It was a very clear-cut decision to merge our companies that came down to the solid vision of eTelcharge. We have a great business model that operates in areas of the traditional closing of home mortgages for HUD and we are poised for continued significant long-term growth. Nevertheless, we felt that eTelcharge was in an excellent position to align with our business and capitalize on a huge challenge in the market -- identity theft. Can you imagine the possible scenarios like after a customer closes on their new home we send them a new eTelcharge pre-paid credit card. In addition, eTelcharge.com's intense focus on being the preferred payment vehicle of choice for households across the U.S. This will also introduce us to markets in which we have not participated."
More details concerning the terms of the Letter of Intent will be forthcoming in the coming days.
About eTelcharge.com
eTelcharge.com (Pink Sheets:ETLC) offers the traditional credit card merchant services, checks and other existing financial infrastructure offered by banks, as well as the proprietary new online currency that provides online shoppers the exclusive choice to charge items to their telephone bill. Designed to reduce the risk of identity fraud and identity theft by providing an Internet credit option for online shoppers to charge a number of items sold over the Internet. This payment option is a perfect match for the 70 million Americans who do not own a credit card. eTelcharge.com started as the only company with the ability to charge a variety of products to the home phone bill. Clearly, past electronic commerce solutions have not employed effective security and privacy techniques that adequately address consumer concerns about privacy and security on the Internet today. The release of the latest version of the proprietary phone billing option is scheduled to be launched summer 2005. For more information, go to http://www.eTelcharge.com.
About The American Home Market Corporation
The American Home Market Corporation (AHM) and its subsidiaries are a Fee Office of Title Texas (Formerly Safeco Land Title of Dallas). We have assembled one of the most experienced commercial and residential closing teams in the State of Texas, if not the nation. The combined expertise of our escrow officers, in-house attorney closers, support legal staff and escrow support staff is unequaled in the business. A strong and widely diversified repeat customer base (individual, developer, lender, attorney) is a powerful testimony to our success. We are Certified Closing Agents for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and as such we are the closing agents for any home sold by HUD in 42 counties throughout the State of Texas. With over $100,000.00 million dollars in yearly revenues, we are strongly committed to providing the finest products and services available.
This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause eTelcharge.com, Inc. and actual results or outcomes to be materially different from those anticipated and discussed herein. These include its historical lack of profitability, limited working capital, the need for additional capital, end-use customers' acceptance of new products and actual demand, the need for eTelcharge.com, Inc. to manage its growth, and other risks associated.