ShopNow.com Acquires Ubarter.com for $45 Million in Stock

A major player in the commercial trade exchange industry, Ubarter.com, has positioned itself for an exciting future with the announced acquisition by ShopNow.com set to close early next year.

Ubarter.com made the decision to join ShopNow.com when additional funding needed for growth was slow in coming. Steven White, CEO of Ubarter enthusiastically explained, "We've reloaded! This will rapidly expand our efforts as ShopNow has established relationships with over 40,000 businesses and merchants, as well as the expertise of running an e-commerce business."

Chairman and CEO of ShopNow.com, Dwayne Walker, added that "over 80% of our revenues now come from businesses. This acquisition will allow us to increase our business-to-business revenues more rapidly."

Walker also pointed out that online exchanges provide the perfect platform to trade goods and services on a global scale. He indicated that ShopNow will aggressively expand their offerings to take a leadership role in providing goods and services on the Web.

The ShopNow network currently boasts over 6 million monthly visitors, spending an average of 24 minutes on the site.

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Intellibarter.com Launched Christmas Day For Trading Unwanted Presents

A new internet company, Intellibarter.com, deliberately timed the launch of its new web site for December 25.

The company is positioning itself as a pioneering, low-cost alternative to auction web sites. The site is free to browse and to list items for the purpose of acquiring, trading or selling. To facilitate the bartering process an automated matching agent constantly searches for potential trades and then notifies users of any matches.

Users must register before participating in the barter service, they are charged one barter token to gain access to another user's contact information. Barter tokens sell for 35? to 50? each, in packs of 10. Trading is free through Spring 2000. Intellibarter initially will focus on collectibles, personal effects, consumer goods, and leisure-related items.

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Intellectual Capital Exchange Provides Technical Solutions Platform

Because modern technology products are so complex, it's now impossible for any one company to own or develop all of the intellectual property necessary to design many of its new products in Internet time.

HelloBrain, fills that need as the world's first internet-based exchange that trades technical intellectual capital rather than goods, services, or financial instruments.

To utilize the system, companies or entrepreneurs working on a complex product design will post on the exchange the technical problems they need solved, or the nature of intellectual property to be acquired or developed.

Others who possess the required "intellectual capital" (either a ready-made solution, or the ability to create one) will bid for the right to provide the solution. Once buyer and seller have agreed on terms, the existing or engineered technical solution and the agreed payment, the exchange then brokers the agreement electronically and collects a transaction fee. Fees vary by market, project, and solution.

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Marquee Sportstar Draws Traffic In Exchange For Equity

Star athletes are increasingly selecting agents who have Internet expertise. One such agent, Leonard Armato, made sports history when he moved Shaq.com from the Microsoft Network to Sportsline.com. In exchange, Shaq got an equity stake in Sportsline USA...the first deal of its kind.

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IRTA News

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• Don Mardak, NATE president, has announced that Alan Zimmelman has accepted the position as NATE's new Executive Director. Zimmelman is the former owner of the BXI office in West Los Angeles, and currently is Vice President of Ubarter.com which was recently acquired by ShopNow.com.
  
  
• The annual NATE convention is scheduled for March 2 thru 4 at the Monte Carlo Hotel in Las Vegas. Mardak reports that the program committee has been working over-time to produce the finest seminar agenda in NATE's history.

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