(Nasdaq:GMAI), jointly announced today that Amazon.com has made a minority investment in GMAI, purchasing $5 million of GMAI's stock. Additional terms of the investment were not disclosed.
In a related agreement, Amazon.com and GMAI formed a marketing alliance whereby GMAI will provide Amazon.com customers with high-interest, quality collectible offerings on Amazon.com Auctions and zShops with branding of a Greg Manning banner. GMAI will offer unique benefits to Amazon.com's more than 17 million customers, who may be interested in collecting stamps, coins, sports cards, sports memorabilia, comics, Hollywood and movie memorabilia, music and rock & roll memorabilia, movie posters, and other collectibles. Additional terms of the marketing agreement were not disclosed.
"Greg Manning Auctions is known worldwide for the breadth, depth, and quality of its collectibles offerings," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO, Amazon.com. "They care deeply about serving customers in a prompt, efficient manner and offer items of only the highest quality."
Greg Manning, chairman and CEO of Greg Manning Auctions, said, "To have a company of the stature of Amazon.com make an equity investment in our company marks a significant milestone in the development of GMAI. Over the past year, we've invested considerable time and resources enhancing our own product offerings, solidifying our leading positions in the collectibles markets, and honing our e-commerce skills. We are now positioned to offer Amazon.com's more than 17 million customers our renowned service and products while at the same time continuing to serve the tens of thousands of loyal GMAI customers to whom we offer each week on our sites over 5,000 auction and retail items."
About Greg Manning Auctions, Inc.
Greg Manning Auctions, Inc., is a global leader in the online auctions and online retail sale of collectibles. Through its operations in the United States (www.gregmanning.com) and www.teletrade.com/, China (www.iatoz.com), and Europe (www.gmai-europe.com), the company offers one of the richest reservoirs of collectibles in the world, including stamps, coins, sports memorabilia, sports cards, rock & roll memorabilia, movie posters, diamonds, comics, and fine art.
Through its subsidiary, GMAI-Asia.com, Inc., the company is taking advantage of the significant e-commerce and Internet opportunity that exists in China. Its www.iatoz.com site has greatly expanded upon the collectible offerings of GMAI by offering a myriad of other product lines, and positions the company as the leading consumer-to-consumer, business-to-consumer, and business-to-business Internet trading platform in China. GMAI-Asia.com, Inc. maintains a workforce of more than 1,000 and anticipates year 2000 sales to exceed $100 million.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com (Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries) is the Internet's No. 1 music, No. 1 DVD and video, and No. 1 book retailer. Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection, along with online auctions and free electronic greeting cards. Amazon.com lists more than 18 million unique items in categories including books, CDs, toys, electronics, videos, DVDs, home improvement products, software, and video games. Through Amazon.com zShops, any business or individual can sell virtually anything to Amazon.com's more than 17 million customers, and with Amazon.com Payments, any seller can accept credit card transactions, avoiding the hassles of offline payments. The company also participates in sothebys.amazon.com, the leading auction site for guaranteed art, jewelry, and collectibles, at www.sothebys.amazon.com.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, Amazon.com's limited operating history, anticipated losses, unpredictability of future revenues, potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results, seasonality, consumer trends, competition, risk of distribution center expansion, risks related to fourth quarter performance, risks of system interruption, management of potential growth, risks related to auction and zShops services, risks related to fraud and Amazon.com Payments, and risks of new business areas, international expansion, business combinations, and strategic alliances. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 1999, June 30, 1999, and September 30, 1999.
Statements in this press release that relate to future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events, and the like are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Future events, risks, and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Those factors include the parties' abilities to develop, implement, integrate, and launch the services and offerings described herein, and other factors discussed in the "forward-looking information" or "risk factors" sections included in the companies' prospectuses, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and annual reports on Form 10-K.