XING AG acquires cember.net and becomes market leader for online business networking in Turkey
08-01-22
XING AG / Acquisition/Strategic Company Decision Release of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamburg, January 22, 2008 – XING AG (ISIN: DE000XNG8888) is driving forward its course of consolidation in Europe with the takeover of cember.net (www.cember.net), the largest business network in Turkey. Cost of the acquisition was announced to be 4.36 million euros in total, payable in several stages. After two successful takeovers of direct competitors in the past year alone, the acquisition of cember.net now marks XING out as the clear market leader providing online networking for business professionals in the Turkish-speaking world. XING AG acquired the Spanish networks eConozco and Neurona in 2007. At present, cember.net has approximately 280,000 members who use the network either for free or on a fee-paying basis. In 2007, thanks to growth in fee-paying members and additional revenues from advertising, the company was slightly profitable. Already active on the Turkish market, XING’s acquisition of cember.net will reinforce its profile and positioning in all the key centers of commerce. Due to parallels including the high compatibility of both platforms, their similar business models and common focus on business professionals, XING AG anticipates that cember.net members will also be willing to pay for the more comprehensive features available with XING’s Premium Membership. Çağlar Erol and Nihan Colak Erol, the Co-Founders of cember.net, will play a key active role in the integration of cember.net to XING, and will also support the Turkish-speaking XING community with a small team based in Turkey itself. Important notice: Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements This notice contains forward-looking statements concerning the operations, business development, membership growth and financial results of XING AG and/or the industry in which the Company operates. These forward-looking statements are generally indicated by terms such as 'estimate', 'anticipate', 'expect', 'assume', 'intend', 'predict', 'plan', 'strive', 'should', 'could', 'would', 'will' and similar phrasing. Forward-looking statements contained in this notice, including assumptions, estimates and opinions by the Company or information provided by third parties, are based on the current plans, estimates, assumptions and forecasts, and may entail uncertainties and risks. A variety of different factors could lead to actual results, trends and conditions that differ significantly from the forward-looking statements contained in this notice. The Company does not assume any liability for this eventuality and cannot guarantee that the information upon which the forward-looking statements are based is correct and complete, nor is the Company, its subsidiaries and affiliated companies liable for the future correctness of the statements outlined in this notice. Information and statistics from external sources should not be interpreted as information and statistics that have been verified by the Company. The Company, its subsidiaries and affiliated companies are not obliged to update any forward-looking statements. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information and Explaination of the Issuer to this News: Befreiungsvermerk am 22. Januar 2008 per Fax erfolgt. Kontakt: Patrick Möller Director Investor Relations Gänsemarkt 43 20354 Hamburg Tel. +49 40 419131-793 Fax +49 40 419131-11 investor-relations@xing.com 22.01.2008 Financial News transmitted by DGAP ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Issuer: XING AG Gänsemarkt 43 20354 Hamburg Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)40 419 131-10 Fax: +49 (0)40 419 131-11 E-mail: investor-relations@xing.com Internet: www.xing.com ISIN: DE000XNG8888 WKN: XNG888 Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
