United Internet AG

M&A Activity • Dec 22, 2006

News Details

Corporate | 22 December 2006 16:05

United Internet invests in games specialist e-sport

United Internet AG / Miscellaneous

Corporate news transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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United Internet invests in games specialist e-sport

Montabaur, December 22, 2006. United Internet has acquired a 12.51%
shareholding in e-sport GmbH, Hamburg. It was also agreed that United
Internet can exercise a call option to buy a further 12.52% by the end of
2007, which would take its shareholding to 25.03%. The acquisition was
carried out as part of the company’s capital increase. The corresponding
contracts were signed today. The company is also to be renamed as Bigpoint
GmbH within the next few days. Together with the brothers Marc, Oliver and
Alexander Samwer and their European Founders Fund (EFF), and Aurelia
Private Equity, United Internet is now the third major investor in e-sport
GmbH. The acquisition is still subject to the usual approval of the
relevant antitrust authorities.

e-sport GmbH is Germany’s leading company in the fast growing browser game
segment, a sub-segment of the online games market. e-sport owns Germany’s
largest portfolio in this genre and is responsible for such top games as
the pirate adventure 'Seafight', 'The-Mafia' and 'The-Pimps'. The new
e-sport browser game 'Xblaster' recently received the audience award as
best German browser game of 2006. All games can be found via the game
portal Bigpoint.de (www.bigpoint.de).

Online games are the fastest growing segment of the games market.
PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasts annual growth rates of over 60% in Germany
alone. Market volume in Germany is expected to reach over EUR 900 million
by 2009. This would be the first time that online games exceeded sales of
the current market segment leader, console games.

'We generate our sales primarily via online advertising and product
placement, as well as through sales of game items,' says Heiko Hubertz, CEO
of e-sport GmbH. 'The business model is based on maximum reach and high
expertise in the online advertising market. As No. 1 in the German portal
sector and a leading online marketer, United Internet is ideally placed to
offer us both these things.'

'We are happy to have succeeded in bringing e-sport and United Internet
together,' says Oliver Samwer, Managing Director of European Founders Fund.
'United Internet's domestic and foreign contacts and high-reach portals
will significantly accelerate e-sport's national and international
expansion.'

'With 14 self-developed browser games and over 3 million registered
players, e-sport is No. 1 on the German online games market. Browser games
are purely web-based games which can be played directly in the browser and
without the need for downloading and installing. The games can therefore be
seamlessly integrated into our portals and we can provide a fast growing
community. e-sport will also have access to over 60 countries around the
world via AdLINK Internet Media AG and our media and portal network Ad
Europe,' says Ralph Dommermuth, CEO of United Internet AG.

With over 6.1 million customer contracts, United Internet AG is one of
Europe’s leading Internet Service Providers (ISP). In its 'Product'
segment, the Group’s value-added internet services and fast internet
connections are directed at private users, small/home offices (SoHos) and
small to mid-size enterprises (SMEs). These groups are served by the brands
GMX, WEB.DE and 1&1. In addition to its 'Product' business, the Group is
also engaged in 'Outsourcing' (via the brands InterNetX and twenty4help) as
well as 'Online Marketing' (via the brands AdLINK, affilinet and Sedo).

Contact partner:
Marcus Schaps
United Internet AG
Press spokesman
Phone: +49 2602/96-1076
Fax: +49 2602/96-1013
E-mail: mschaps@united-internet.de

DGAP 22.12.2006

Language: English
Issuer: United Internet AG
Elgendorfer Straße 57
56410 Montabaur Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)260 296-1631
Fax: +49 (0)260 296-1013
E-mail: Investor-Relations@United-Internet.de
WWW: www.United-Internet.de
ISIN: DE0005089031
WKN: 508903
Indices: TecDAX
Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin-Bremen, Stuttgart, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf

End of News DGAP News-Service

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