IDG Books Worldwide and The Learning Company Sign Licensing Deal

Business Wire, Jan 5, 2000

Business Editors

FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 2000

IDG Books Worldwide (Nasdaq: IDGB) and The Learning Company, a division of Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT), announced today a licensing partnership that will bring IDGB's best-selling For Dummies(R) brand and its unique fun and easy how-to style to The Learning Company's educational CD-ROM business. Under the two-year licensing agreement, IDGB and The Learning Company will collaborate in the development of consumer software titles offering interactive tutorials for adults on personal computing, money management and foreign languages. Eight titles are expected to be released this year.

The worldwide licensing deal brings together two of the leading brands in lifelong learning. The Learning Company has developed and distributed some of the most respected educational software for nearly 20 years, including Reader Rabbit, Carmen Sandiego and The Princeton Review. The popular For Dummies series is IDGB's flagship brand. With over 75 million books in print and translations in more than 30 languages, For Dummies is recognized worldwide for its anxiety-chasing approach to making learning a wide range of topics, from computers and cooking to personal finance and foreign languages, simple and fun.

"The Learning Company is delivering the For Dummies experience using a unique personalized learning platform," said Teri Clayton, The Learning Company's Vice President of Marketing. "People trust For Dummies will give them confidence and valuable insight as they are having fun learning on their computer."

"This is an exciting program for us," said Marc Mikulich, IDGB's Vice President for Strategic Brand Management. "We are expanding the formats by which IDGB can offer consumers access to For Dummies' engaging way of providing quick and smart how-to information and solutions, and are pleased to partner with a leader in educational technology to offer For Dummies CD-ROMs."

The For Dummies educational software will be distributed worldwide through direct marketing, in retail stores and on the Internet. There will be preview demonstrations of the brand line this spring at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), an electronic trade show held in Los Angeles.

About The Learning Company

The Learning Company, a unit of Mattel Interactive, a division of Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT), develops and publishes some of the best-known educational software for the entire family. This includes Reader Rabbit, The ClueFinders, Pokemon, Fisher-Price, Arthur, Little Bear, Sesame Street, Dr. Seuss, Madeline, The Oregon Trail, Kid Pix, Carmen Sandiego, Learn to Speak and The Princeton Review. The Learning Company products are distributed and sold worldwide through multiple distribution channels such as retail stores, school sales, online, direct marketing and OEM. For further information, visit www.learningco.com or www.shopTLC.com.

About IDG Books Worldwide

IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDGB), headquartered in Foster City, Calif., is a leading global knowledge company with a diverse portfolio of technology, consumer and general how-to book brands, computer-based learning tools, Web sites and Internet e-services. IDGB's best-selling brands include For Dummies(R), 3-D Visual(R), Bible, Cliffs Notes(TM), Frommer's(R), Betty Crocker's(R), Weight Watchers(R) and Webster's New World(TM). The company has more than 4,000 active titles, plus translations in 36 languages around the world. More information about IDGB is available from the company's SEC filings or by visiting the company Web site at www.idgbooks.com. IDGB is a subsidiary of International Data Group, the world's leading IT media, research and exposition company.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are risks associated with the timing and completion of the educational software programs including the risks of substantial competition in the educational software market and failure to gain market acceptance, as well as risk factors detailed from time to time in the company's periodic reports and registration statements which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.