iVillage Inc. Acquires Business Women's Network; Profitable Company Immediately Accretive to iVillage Earnings

Business Wire, July 24, 2001

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 2001

Acquisition Expands Subscription Services,

Clients Include 250 Fortune 500 Companies

iVillage Inc. (Nasdaq:IVIL), the leading online women's media company, today announced that it has acquired control of Public Affairs Group, Inc., operator of Business Women's Network (BWN), a privately-held, Washington, DC-based company.

BWN connects over 5,000 national and international women's businesses, professional organizations, and Web sites that represent approximately 39 million executive and entrepreneurial women across the United States and in many countries. This transaction is an example of iVillage's strategy to generate revenue from products and services.

The acquisition enhances the iVillage offering to professional women, adds a business-to-business component, expands sales opportunities and consolidates iVillage's position as the premier resource for companies marketing to women. BWN's clients include more than 250 of the Fortune 500 companies and include Allstate, American Express, BellSouth, Calvert Group, Crowne Plaza and Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts, Deloitte & Touche, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, The MONY Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Office Depot, Principal Financial, Prudential, United States Postal Service, and Verizon.

"Our acquisition of Business Women's Network continues to build on our strategy of subscription-based businesses and provides us with an incredible opportunity to bolster the content and services we offer to our visitors," said Doug McCormick, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of iVillage. "Our executive-level access to more than 250 of the Fortune 500 companies and BWN's high-end customer base provide us with greater opportunities for expanded sales offerings. In building iVillage media schedules and paid e-mail services into BWN's core offerings, we are enhancing the value of BWN to its customers while growing iVillage.com revenues."

"Both Business Women's Network and iVillage have a long history of service to women and this move furthers and enhances both our commitments," said Nancy Evans, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of iVillage. "As the founder of BWN, a huge force in women's and diversity issues, and as a longtime friend, Edie will provide tremendous value to iVillage."

"It has been our mission to aggressively build upon our umbrella of support for women in business nationally and internationally and our joining with iVillage furthers our goal," said Edie Fraser, Chief Executive Officer of Business Women's Network. "iVillage is the leading women's destination online and provides the opportunity to offer more valuable services to BWN's clients. Together we help businesses recognize important issues facing women in the marketplace."

About BWN

BWN is one of the most comprehensive sources of information and program linkage to the women's market around the world and offers one of the most extensive databases of women's organizations and Web sites in the nation. BWN offers several fee-based benefits and services to subscribing companies and members including:

Women's Best Practices - A member-based service that acts as a strategic partner to consult with companies and government agencies on attracting and retaining the women's market in their sales and diversity initiatives. This department organizes conferences, events and forums for companies to discuss and share marketing efforts targeting the women's sector.

Diversity Best Practices (DBP) - A specialized service, DBP member companies and government entities share and exchange best practices around key issues. With the goal of helping major corporations and government departments build diversity management and resources, this department provides business case materials on all areas of diversity and forums for exchanging information around these issues. Members participate in conference calls and seminars, receive special reports and gain access to an informative Internet resource center.

Currently, 17 members serve on the Diversity Council and provide guidance to the driving issues and schedule of Diversity Best Practices. These Council members are AARP, Abbott, Allstate, Amtrak, Arthur Andersen, BellSouth, Campbell Soup, Cingular, Deloitte & Touche, Freddie Mac, Hewlett-Packard, the U.S. Department of the Interior, J.P. Morgan Chase, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Shell Oil, Tricon Global, and Verizon. (www.diversitybestpractices.com)

Best Practices in Corporate Communications (BPCC) - A member-based business resource for corporate communications, BPCC facilitates the development of innovative solutions and strong relationships within the corporate world. Members of BPCC benefit from a wide variety of services provided to help boost corporate efficiency, such as conference calls, white papers and reports, seminars and an informative Internet resource center. In order to provide members with up-to-date information and services, BPCC has aligned with other leading industries in the field such as PR News, Corporate Branding and CARMA International. BPCC offers not only a vast amount of information, but also a venue for inter-corporate communications. (www.bpincc.com)