LYCOS ASIA ACQUIRES MYRICE.COM

AsiaInfo Services
03-17-2001
Lycos Asia acquires MyRice.com

BEIJING, Mar 16, 2001 (AsiaPort via COMTEX) -- Lycos Asia, one of the largest Internet networks in Aisa, announced Thursday the completion of the acquisition of MyRice.com, an Internet portal in China.

The merger was reported to be the first domestic Internet portal that has been taken over by foreign investors.

"The completion of the acquisition will contribute to enhance our position as a leading Pan-Asian Internet portal," said Mary Ong, chief executive officer of Lycos Asia.

"As a result, it brings to us a wealth of Chinese content that we are able to use and capitalize on throughout our Lycos Asia Network," she added.In a telephone view yesterday, the company declined to reveal the financial issues about transaction.

"The acquisition is in fully compliance with the related Chinese regulations and laws," said Michael Ripps, chief operating officer of Lycos Asia, adding the take-over of MyRice.com is a complementary for the company to expand its presence in China.

According to him, after acquisition, as a part of integration, Lycos will bring some of its world-class technology and services to enrich and improve the site for users of MyRice.com.

Lycos Asia provides leading Web search and navigation, communication and personalization tools, homepage building and Web community services.

"Joining the Lycos Asia network will allow us to move on to the next level of our growth not just within China, but also regionally, globally and a part of one of the world's largest Internet network of Terra Lycos," said Howard Chu, co-CEO and co-founder of MyRice.com.

Chu said MyRice.com is already integrated to Lycos Asia's newly launched southeastern Asian Chinese portal site -- http://Chinese.lycosasian.com and is being incorporated into Lycos Asia network of sites in the Greater China region.

Owned by Cyber Rapid Development, an investment holding company of Hong Kong-based MyRice.com Holdings, MyRice.com ranks number 6 among the top domain names in china according to the latest report by NetValue in Jan 2001. The Web has attracted more than half a million visitors per month.

"We will continue to keep a closer eye on the regional market to seek more chances of expansion in ways of acquisition and co-operation," stressed Ripps.

Lycos Asia, a joint venture formed by Terra Lycos and SingTel in September 1999, now has the largest footprint in the region with 11 sites over 9 countries.


From China Computerworld, Page 4, Monday, March 12, 2001
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KEYWORD: BEIJING INDUSTRY KEYWORD: Global Activities SUBJECT CODE: Computers, Telecom and Information Technology

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