Micron Electronics Acquires Leading NT Web Hosting Provider, Worldwide Internet - Company Business and Marketing

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, March 27, 2000

Delivering on its commitment to expanding its Web and applications hosting business, Micron Electronics, Inc. (www.micronpc.com) (Nasdaq:MUEI), Monday announced the acquisition of Worldwide Internet, a Boca Raton, Florida-based Microsoft NTWeb hosting, e-commerce and dedicated hosting provider.

Micron Electronics, through a wholly owned subsidiary, acquired all outstanding stock of Worldwide Internet in exchange for an undisclosed amount of cash.

Worldwide Internet has nearly 11,000 paid hosting accounts. With the acquisition, Micron Electronics' hosting business has grown to more than 85,000 hosted Web sites and more than 45,000 paid hosting accounts. This acquisition also elevates Micron's total dedicated Web hosting customer accounts to more than 300.

By focusing on the "Microsoft Solution" via NT hosting, Worldwide Internet has grown into one of the largest exclusive Microsoft NT hosting companies, currently hosting customers in more than 120 countries around the world.

"The strategic acquisition strengthens our position in the growing Web and applications hosting market and gives us a foothold on the East Coast. Its dedicated hosting unit also enhances our e-commerce offerings for small and medium-sized businesses," said Joel Kocher, chairman and chief executive officer of Micron Electronics. "As one of the largest exclusive Microsoft NT hosting companies in the world, Worldwide Internet is positioned to provide solutions that many companies can only promise today."

As part of the acquisition, Micron also acquires the www.dedicatedhosting.com domain, which provides hosting customers with a comprehensive resource on Microsoft Internet technologies and the most up-to-date selection of components for the Windows NT platform. The www.dedicatedhosting.com Web site is an industry leader in dedicated and co-located hosting solutions.

Worldwide joins Micron's Internet and Web hosting subsidiaries, now unified under the award-winning HostPro brand, hosting more than 85,000 Web sites, with more than 45,000 paid hosting accounts, making it the fourth largest Web hosting company in the country. With data centers in Los Angeles, Seattle, Moses Lake, Boise and Boca Raton, HostPro provides industry-leading Web and application hosting solutions to small and medium-sized businesses around the world.

HostPro offers a broad range of e-commerce, application hosting and connectivity solutions and Web hosting products based on Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows 2000, Unix, and Linux platforms. Web hosting solutions range from entry-level shared and virtual servers to managed and unmanaged dedicated Web servers. Customers can also take advantage of virtual hosting capabilities and e-commerce tools through the "true" virtual server environment that allows users more control and administrative privileges than traditional hosting companies.

Worldwide Internet is a global leader in Microsoft NT based Web hosting. An InterNIC Gold Level Premier Partner, Microsoft Solutions Provider, and founding board member of the webhostguild (www.whg.org), Worldwide is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. For more information on Worldwide Internet, visit the company's Web site at www.wipc.net or call 1-800/785-6170.

Micron Electronics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MUEI) is a leading direct provider of award-winning computer products, Internet offerings, Web hosting and business-to-business e-commerce applications for the small- and medium-size business, government, education and consumer markets. Micron Electronics and its subsidiaries have more than 2,700 employees and approximately $1.4 billion in fiscal 1999 revenues. The company is based in Nampa, Idaho, and can be reached at www.micronpc.com.