GourmetMarket.com (OTCBB:WINE), a portfolio company of iiGroup, Inc. (OTCBB:IIGR), announced today that it has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire VirtualGourmet.com. VirtualGourmet.com was started by Rundell, Coursey & Company (RCC), a "New Economy" holding company with a primary focus in developing innovative ideas and cultivating them into successful business ventures that lead the market in their particular industry space. In addition, GourmetMarket.com announced that RCC has been retained to provide overall day-to-day operational and strategic management for the company. RCC and iiGroup have received preliminary approval on bridge financing to facilitate the acquisition, and plan to arrange for a substantial funding for the company over the next several months.
Neil Swartz, Chief Executive Officer of iiGroup, Inc said: "At the beginning of the year, iiGroup made an investment into GourmetMarket.com and took over the day to day operations of the company. GourmetMarket.com has a great foundation with over 150 co-marketing deals in place, and averages 320,000 unique visitors a month. We are very impressed with RCC's background and the companies they have built in the past, and we believe that combining GourmetMarket.com's strengths with those of VirtualGourmet.com will create a company that is a profitable market leader." Swartz also announced: "We have decided to emphasize GourmetMarket.com's core gourmet business, and as a result Nucell Wireless Corporation and GourmetMarket.com have mutually agreed not to go forward with their earlier announced transaction."
Derek J. Rundell, co-founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Rundell, Coursey & Company, said: "The combined strength of VirtualGourmet.com and GourmetMarket.com will allow us to provide the most extensive gourmet food offering throughout the online marketplace. The existing customer base, rich content, unique customer acquisition strategy, and new distribution initiative will propel GourmetMarket.com into a market leader position within the online gourmet and specialty food niche."
About GourmetMarket.com
GourmetMarket.com is a leading technology and e-commerce company that sells premium, hard-to-find food, wine and kitchenware products. GourmetMarket.com provides some of the most comprehensive online culinary content on the Internet today. GourmetMarket.com is publicly held, and currently has more than 150 business and co- additional information, visit the company's Web site at www.gourmetmarket.com.
About VirtualGourmet.com
VirtualGourmet.com was founded in 1999 with a mission to provide the highest quality gourmet food and customer service on the Internet. The company has a diverse line of high quality specialty foods and cookware, and also offers a Food Finder service, which allows shoppers to find and purchase almost any type of food available around the world.
About iiGroup
iiGroup is a strategic management company that invests in operating Internet companies, relevant technologies, and bricks and mortar companies if management determines that they can benefit from having an Internet presence. iiGroup has 100% ownership of Travlang.com, an award winning travel and foreign language website. iiGroup has equity positions in GourmetMarket.com (OTCBB:WINE), Nucell Wireless Corporation, Solutions Media, Inc., SpinRecords.com, SomeMusic.com, SpeedMonster.com and SBN.com.
About Rundell, Coursey & Company
Rundell, Coursey & Company is a "New Economy" holding company involved in the incubation, development, strategic planning and funding of high-growth potential companies. Prior to Rundell, Coursey & Company, co-founder, Court Coursey, founded certifiedemail.com; in 1998, the company was acquired by WebMD, Inc. Co-founder, Derek J. Rundell, was formerly a Vice President of Business Development for WebMD and the Executive Vice President of certifiedemail.com. Other Rundell, Coursey & Company portfolio companies include: HollywoodTicket.com, Collaboratories, WebEI, SpecAd, and Shuttle Your Customers.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains certain forward-looking statements regarding GourmetMarket.com, including statements about its operations, prospects and expectations about future financial results,, including, but not limited to, future revenues and earnings. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially and are subject to change at any time. The Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances.
Neil Swartz, Chief Executive Officer of iiGroup, Inc said: "At the beginning of the year, iiGroup made an investment into GourmetMarket.com and took over the day to day operations of the company. GourmetMarket.com has a great foundation with over 150 co-marketing deals in place, and averages 320,000 unique visitors a month. We are very impressed with RCC's background and the companies they have built in the past, and we believe that combining GourmetMarket.com's strengths with those of VirtualGourmet.com will create a company that is a profitable market leader." Swartz also announced: "We have decided to emphasize GourmetMarket.com's core gourmet business, and as a result Nucell Wireless Corporation and GourmetMarket.com have mutually agreed not to go forward with their earlier announced transaction."
Derek J. Rundell, co-founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Rundell, Coursey & Company, said: "The combined strength of VirtualGourmet.com and GourmetMarket.com will allow us to provide the most extensive gourmet food offering throughout the online marketplace. The existing customer base, rich content, unique customer acquisition strategy, and new distribution initiative will propel GourmetMarket.com into a market leader position within the online gourmet and specialty food niche."
About GourmetMarket.com
GourmetMarket.com is a leading technology and e-commerce company that sells premium, hard-to-find food, wine and kitchenware products. GourmetMarket.com provides some of the most comprehensive online culinary content on the Internet today. GourmetMarket.com is publicly held, and currently has more than 150 business and co- additional information, visit the company's Web site at www.gourmetmarket.com.
About VirtualGourmet.com
VirtualGourmet.com was founded in 1999 with a mission to provide the highest quality gourmet food and customer service on the Internet. The company has a diverse line of high quality specialty foods and cookware, and also offers a Food Finder service, which allows shoppers to find and purchase almost any type of food available around the world.
About iiGroup
iiGroup is a strategic management company that invests in operating Internet companies, relevant technologies, and bricks and mortar companies if management determines that they can benefit from having an Internet presence. iiGroup has 100% ownership of Travlang.com, an award winning travel and foreign language website. iiGroup has equity positions in GourmetMarket.com (OTCBB:WINE), Nucell Wireless Corporation, Solutions Media, Inc., SpinRecords.com, SomeMusic.com, SpeedMonster.com and SBN.com.
About Rundell, Coursey & Company
Rundell, Coursey & Company is a "New Economy" holding company involved in the incubation, development, strategic planning and funding of high-growth potential companies. Prior to Rundell, Coursey & Company, co-founder, Court Coursey, founded certifiedemail.com; in 1998, the company was acquired by WebMD, Inc. Co-founder, Derek J. Rundell, was formerly a Vice President of Business Development for WebMD and the Executive Vice President of certifiedemail.com. Other Rundell, Coursey & Company portfolio companies include: HollywoodTicket.com, Collaboratories, WebEI, SpecAd, and Shuttle Your Customers.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains certain forward-looking statements regarding GourmetMarket.com, including statements about its operations, prospects and expectations about future financial results,, including, but not limited to, future revenues and earnings. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially and are subject to change at any time. The Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances.
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