Ticketmaster to Acquire Leading International Online Dating Network to Accelerate Match.com's Global Expansion Strategy

Ticketmaster to Acquire Leading International Online Dating Network to Accelerate Match.com's Global Expansion Strategy Allows Immediate Entry into Nearly 30 Countries Worldwide UK Soulmates Technology Staff to Join Match.com Europe in London Personals on www.friendsreunited.co.uk added to Match.com's stable London, April 12th, 2002 - Ticketmaster (NASDAQ: TMCS), the world's leading ticketing and access company, has signed an agreement to acquire Soulmates Technology, a global online personals group providing dating and matchmaking services in nearly 30 countries worldwide. The move accelerates Match.com's international expansion strategy and secures its position as a leading global provider of online dating services. The consideration is approximately $23 million (26.1m Euros) to be paid primarily in stock. Match.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ticketmaster, is a leading subscription-based online dating site. With the capability to deliver online personals in more than 18 languages, and 32 global currencies, the acquisition of Soulmates Technology will give Match.com an immediate worldwide presence. Soulmates Technology delivers a private-label solution for portals seeking a customised personals interface that takes on the look and feel of their site. In the UK Soulmates Technology powers personals on the popular site www.friendsreunited.co.uk. Currently in the UK there are more than 100,000 Match.com members with profiles posted to the site, whilst there are more than 2.75million members with profiles posted from around the world. The UK is now Match.com's second largest market behind the United States, with many thousands of new members signing up every month. Soulmates Technology provides online dating services to more than two million registered users including nearly 37,000 who have paid to correspond with other users on the site over the last 90 days. Through a relationship with MSN, Soulmates Technology powers MSN's personals in approximately 25 countries around the world. In Europe, Soulmates technology powers MSN's personals in 12 countries, including Spain, France, Norway, Germany, Sweden and Italy. In the UK MSN's personals engine is powered by Match.com. "This transaction significantly accelerates Match.com's international growth by aligning us with several new international partners and providing a platform to deploy our brand worldwide" said John Pleasants, president and chief executive officer at Ticketmaster. "This transaction helps to secure Match.com as a category leader and further propel its future growth opportunities." Joe Cohen, the VP of International for Match.com explained: "Soulmates Technology staff based in the UK will join the Match.com European team to help facilitate our European growth plans." He went on to say, "This year will be a very busy one for us as we expand the Match.com brand into more than 20 countries, supporting multiple local languages and payment currencies." In 2001, Soulmates Technology revenue was approximately $1.5 million (1.7 million Euros) with an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) loss of $80,000 (91,400 Euros). Ticketmaster expects the acquisition to add approximately $5.0 million (5.7million Euros) of revenue and $2.0 million (2.3 million Euros) of EBITDA on an annualised basis, with 2002 reflecting the inclusion of Soulmates Technology's results for approximately the last eight months of the year. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of April 2002. Ticketmaster intends to retain existing management. "We are pleased to join the Ticketmaster and Match.com families and combine our international business with one of the industry leaders in online personals," said Martin Haynes, chief operating officer and joint managing director of Soulmates Technology. "We believe the opportunity to join efforts with Match.com to create one of the industry's pre- eminent collections of international online dating services is truly exciting. Both Match.com and Soulmates Technology have grown very rapidly over the past 12 months; combining our efforts will further enhance our ability to fully capitalise on this rapidly growing category." During 2001, Match.com generated $49.2 million (56.2 million Euros) in revenue and $16.5 million (18.7 million Euros) in EBITDA with more than 382,000 paying subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter. About Match.com Match.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ticketmaster (Nasdaq: TMCS) and part of USA Networks Interactive Group (Nasdaq: USAI), is a leading subscription-based online dating site. The Company's personals businesses claim more than 382,150 paying subscribers. With more than 2.75 million members with profiles posted, Match.com offers adults worldwide a fun, private and secure environment for meeting other singles. The company estimates it is responsible for arranging hundreds of thousands of relationships for its members. Match.com powers paid online dating on The Microsoft Network; iWon and is the premier provider of personals for Love@AOL, offering the Match.com service across AOL, AOL.com, CompuServe and Netscape.com. About Match.com UK Currently in the UK there are more than 100,000 Match.com members with profiles posted to the site. The UK is now Match.com's second largest market behind the United States, with many thousands of new members signing up every month. About Ticketmaster Ticketmaster (NASDAQ: TMCS), the world's leading ticketing and access company, sold 86.7 million tickets in 2001 valued at more than 3.6 billion dollars, through approximately 3,300 retail Ticket Center outlets; 20 worldwide telephone call centers; and ticketmaster.com. Ticketmaster serves more than 7,000 clients worldwide and acts as the exclusive ticketing service for hundreds of leading arenas, stadiums, performing arts venues, and theaters. The Company also operates Match.com, the premier online matchmaking service and Citysearch, a leading online local network enabling people to get the most out of their city. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Ticketmaster is majority owned by USA Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAI) and is a part of its Interactive Group. Ticketmaster was formed through the combination of the operations of Ticketmaster Online-Citysearch and Ticketmaster Corporation in January 2001 and renamed Ticketmaster. About Soulmates Technology Based in Sydney, Australia, Soulmates Technology is a leading international online dating network serving more than 2 million registered users. With multi-lingual capability in 18+ languages and 32 currencies, the Soulmates Technology delivers a private-label solution for portals seeking customized personals interface that takes on the look and feel of their site. Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 This press release contains forward-looking statements about Ticketmaster (the ``Company''), including statements concerning its future product plans. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from these statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's expectations as of the date of this release and the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements. Among the risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect the Company's actual results are: that the Company may not realise the synergies and other intended benefits of the combination of Ticketmaster and Ticketmaster Online- Citysearch; that the Company may have difficulty overcoming problems associated with rapid expansion and growth; the dependence of the Company's business on entertainment, sporting and leisure events; quarterly fluctuations in the Company's revenues which could adversely affect the market price of the Company's stock; the risks of operating internationally; the dependence of the Company on its relationships with clients; the Company's future capital needs and the uncertainty of additional financing; the Company's dependence on key personnel and need to hire additional qualified personnel; control of the Company by USA Networks, Inc.; the potential for conflicts of interest between the Company and USA Networks, Inc.; the Company's need to continue to promote its brands; risks associated with competition; the Company's reliance on third party technology; network security risks; the Company's need to be able to adapt to rapid technological changes; liability associated with the information displayed or accessed on the Company's web sites; intellectual property infringement risks; risks associated with changing legal requirements on the Company's operations, including privacy concerns; litigation risks; the dilutive effect of future acquisitions; risks associated with the failure to maintain the Company's domain names; the risk to its stock price associated with the Company's anti-takeover provisions; and the risk associated with ongoing litigation and governmental investigations relating to the Company's business practices. Investors are encouraged to read the risks and uncertainties detailed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ticketmaster is the owner or licensee of its name and logo trademarks and service marks. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. For further press information, please contact: Lisa Hulme or Victoria McQuade, Big-mouths PR tel: 020 7385 0009 / email: match@big-mouths.com Joe Cohen, VP International, Match.com tel: 020 7483 6999 / email: joec@match.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/04/12/20020412BIT00470/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/04/12/20020412BIT00470/wkr0002.pdf