THE DEAL LAUNCHES THEDEAL.COM

TheDeal.com creates definitive home for global deals and dealmakers on the Web

December 7, 2000--New York, N.Y.--The Deal, a media company charting the deal economy, today announced the launch of TheDeal.com, a Web site that will serve as the definitive Website for news, information and services relating to deals and dealmakers worldwide.

TheDeal.com seeks to be a comprehensive online resource for deal investors, intermediaries, advisers and corporate executives in traditional and new-economy industries. It will deliver breaking deal news, commentary, services and data relevant to deal transactions and a dealmaker's work life. TheDeal.com expands upon the news and features found in The Daily Deal, and provides an interactive user experience with a mix of deal-specific data, content and niche e-commerce offerings.

"TheDeal.com is a valuable tool and reliable partner that dealmakers can call upon everyday for breaking news, data, insight and counsel," said Kevin Worth, president of The Deal.

Thom Forbes, editor in chief, Digital Media, for The Deal LLC, added, "In building TheDeal.com, we emphasized the user experience and created a site that's usable and useful. We want TheDeal.com to become a one-stop hub, the home on the Web for anyone involved in dealmaking." It was designed by New York-based design firm , and replaces the company's previous site (thedailydeal.com). The Daily Deal and TheDeal.com are the flagship properties of The Deal, LLC.

Several advertisers and sponsors have committed to TheDeal.com and have already assumed a strong presence on the site. They include Brobeck, Vcapital, EMC, Vault.com, I/B/E/S, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Heller Financial, Corporate Technologies, Inc. and InvestPrivate.com.

Rich Content and E-Commerce Opportunities

DealWatch, a marquee area of the site offers in-depth, analytical coverage of high-profile mergers and noteworthy developments on the largest deals in play. With perspectives on highlighted deals from The Deal's worldwide editorial staff and elsewhere on the Web, DealWatch provides the facts, figures and personalities that affect M&A activity. Trend data that can be mined at DealWatch includes deal adviser and industry activity rankings.

The Marketplace section is TheDeal.com's e-commerce hub, offering partners' products ranging from business tools and research to merchandise suitable for dealmakers' on-the-go lifestyles. Online purchases through the Marketplace section are channeled through links to selected Marketplace partners' sites.

Channels Organize Vast and Varied Resources

TheDeal.com's specialized news, information and services are tightly organized into two channel areas. The channels of the first group are Venture Capital, IPO, Private Equity, M&A and Bankruptcies.

These Deal Spectrum channels offer broad coverage and original reporting on global deals, ranging from angel to mezzanine financing in startups, to initial public offering filings and withdrawals, to leveraged buyouts, to merger activity and bankruptcies and restructurings. Articles are archived within each channel, allowing fast searches through the site's deal database.

Other unique features:
• Venture Capital includes deal flow articles, interviews with leading venture capitalists and a What's Hot table tracking the weekly monetary activity and deal flow.

• IPO summarizes IPO coverage online, a variety of ranking charts and analysis by The Deal's staff, IPOfinancial.com and others.

• Private Equity channel is developed from the premier coverage by The Deal's staff of this often neglected sector. Data on buyouts are shown through tables, charts and graphics, enhanced by a variety of channel content partners.

• M&A is a one-stop source for late breaking merger news from The Deal's staff located worldwide and from content partners Piper-Jaffray, Webmergers, CommScan and others.

• Bankruptcies channel posts breaking bankruptcy and corporate restructuring news and special reports on bankruptcy trends in specific industries.

• A second channel group serves up advice and information, helping dealmakers navigate their careers through an array of professional and deal-related resources. Each channel is supplemented through online content alliances with premier companies.

• Deal Research Center, created through partnerships with recognized financial, legal and corporate data sources, enables dealmakers to perform due diligence on industries and companies worldwide. The channel is a repository of information used in strategizing, negotiating and formalizing deals.

• Career Center, is a resource for mid- and senior-level executives, and includes job-related information and services developed through partnerships with Vault.com and Glocapsearch.com. It is a source for dealmakers going for a promotion, contemplating a shift to a new industry, looking for a new position, or learning to become more effective managers and leaders.

• The Entrepreneur features profiles of entrepreneurs in various stages of developing their companies. They share their experiences, strategies, wisdom and insights.

• Tools for the Trade focuses on a cross-section of "tools" -- from high-tech devices found inside a dealmaker's office, briefcase or pocket, to places and even to clothing.

• Networking will contain a searchable directory of dealmakers. Visitors interesting in participating are asked to register for free access to the database that will eventually provide networking opportunities.

About The Deal LLC
The Deal, LLC is the leading media company charting the deal economy for dealmakers worldwide. The company provides original news reporting, financial data and commentary on a full spectrum of global transactions and the personalities and politics of dealmakers behind the deals. Through The Daily Deal and TheDeal.com, as well as e-newsletters, newsletters and special reports, The Deal, LLC addresses the information needs of the deal community composed of corporate executives, entrepreneurs, institutional investors, financial intermediaries and advisers. Investors in The Deal, LLC, a privately held company, include majority owner U.S. Equity Partners, a private investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and Rustic Canyon Ventures, one of the largest venture capital funds in Southern California.