Press Release - Melbourne, Florida, USA - April 10, 2000
USBid.com Advances Its European Toehold by Merging With Now! Components
Merger Continues USBid's Worldwide Expansion, Increasing Line Items, Product Diversity and Pricing Options for Online Electronic Components Marketplace
Continuing its strategic expansion,
USBid.com, the world's preeminent online source for electronic components,
has strengthened its European presence by merging with Now! Components,
Ltd., a leading source of new, excess and surplus passive electronic components
based in Kettering, England.
"The Internet is truly an international marketplace, comprising a community
that spans the globe. Without worldwide reach, e-commerce companies fail
to achieve optimization of prices or fluidity of market," said Gary Heyes,
president of USBid.com. "Now! Components provides us with a strategic
toehold in Europe as we continue our expansion process. In addition to
its European presence and fixed-price model, Now! Components will increase
our product offerings by about 200,000 line items and our site traffic
by 15 percent."
USBid.com acquired all of Now! Components' outstanding shares in a stock
swap on April 7. No other terms of the merger were disclosed.
The two companies have been working closely together under an alliance
announced in March, which included USBid.com's integration of Now! Components'
fixed-price model with USBid.com's auction technology to provide users
a full spectrum of e-commerce exchange options.
"Auctions are well suited for purchasing items that are either hard to
find or in very high demand. When availability and immediate shipment
are most important, fixed pricing is optimal," Heyes said. "We're finding
buyers need both models within an online exchange environment, and that's
what USBid.com will now be able to provide."
The March alliance also included USBid.com's agreement to provide logistic
and supply chain services for Now! Components' U.S. customers. Now! Components
has 50 percent of its customer base in Europe and 50 percent in the United
States.
"Now!Components has an extensive community of users in more than 60 countries
who will benefit greatly from our merger with USBid.com," said John Hankey,
co-founder of Now!Components. "Not only will they have access to greater
product selection and the option of an auction format, but our state-side
customers will also experience more efficient logistics management."
The merger between USBid.com and Now! Components will result in a combined
product listing that will better serve both customer markets, because
Now! Components complements USBid's product offerings by selling primarily
resistors and capacitors. Within the next 90 days, Now! Components' product
listings and fixed-price model will be integrated into USBid.com. Now!
Components' Web site, telephone numbers and customer support will be maintained
until its users can be transitioned fully to USBid.com.
About USBid
USBid  usbid.com introduced the first e-commerce market model for the electronics industry. USBid was selected as Forbes' Best of the Web in 2000. A premier provider of content, community, and commerce in the electronic components space, USBid combines vast inventory with personalized customer support to provide unmatched reliability in fulfilling the needs of both buyers and sellers. USBid enables a worldwide, Web-based community of electronics buyers and sellers to reduce procurement cycles, lower overhead, and maximize profits through fixed-price, exchange, RFQ, and auction models.
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