Walt Disney Internet Group Sells Infoseek Japan To Japanese E-Commerce company, Rakuten, Inc

Business Wire, Nov 30, 2000

Business/Internet & Entertainment Editors

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30, 2000

Walt Disney Internet Group has sold Infoseek Japan, the fourth largest search portal in Japan, to the Japanese e-commerce company, Rakuten, Inc., for a total consideration of 9 billion yen or approximately $81 million. The sale includes an ongoing, strategic relationship whereby the Walt Disney Internet Group's leading Web content sites will be given preferred status for distribution on Infoseek Japan sites.

"Infoseek Japan represents a valuable asset, yet it was not core to our business. This sale, and the ongoing distribution relationship with Rakuten, furthers our objective to opportunistically divest non-strategic assets and to focus our international efforts on the licensing and distribution of our Disney- and ESPN- branded content and services, " said Steve Bornstein, chairman, Walt Disney Internet Group.

"With its renowned, proprietary search engine and strong brand, Infoseek Japan is a highly complementary addition to Rakuten's portfolio of online businesses, and will enable us to meet our strategic goals," said Hiroshi Mikitani, president and chief executive officer, Rakuten.

Established in 1997, Rakuten, Inc is a leading provider of online shopping sites and auction systems in Japan offering a wide range of products. It operates a business-to-consumer Internet shopping mall, a business-to-consumer auction market and a consumer to consumer auction market. The company's online shopping mall is one of the largest in Japan with over 4,900 stores.

About WDIG

Walt Disney Internet Group (NYSE: DIG) is the Internet business of The Walt Disney Company and manages some of the Internet's most popular Web sites, including ABC.com, ABCNEWS.com, ABCSports.com, Disney.com, DisneyStore.com, DisneyVacations.com, Family.com, GO.com, ESPN.com, Movies.com, Mr.Showbiz, NFL.com, NBA.com, NASCAR.Online and Soccernet. The Walt Disney Internet Group which has headquarters in North Hollywood, Calif.; and operations in Sunnyvale, Calif.; Seattle; New York; Bristol, Conn.; and London.