November 27, 2002

AFFINITY INTERNET ACQUIRES BIGSTEP, ADDING AWARD-WINNING WEB HOSTING BRAND FOR SMALL TO MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES

My spin:I guess I'm late with this news....but better late than never for those who didn't know (I wonder if anyone even cared)

All-Stock Deal Gives Affinity Software Tools, Technology Team, Templates, Service Expertise

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Oct. 14, 2002 : Affinity Internet, already the third largest hosting company in the United States, has acquired Bigstep, a San Francisco-based hosting company known for its service and e-commerce offerings, in an all stock transaction.

Bigstep brings a new brand to Affinity, a company that provides hosting solutions for small to medium-sized businesses (SMB) through multiple brands, each designed to meet different needs within the diverse SMB marketplace. Affinity will be incorporating Bigstep's market-leading web template and e-commerce technologies into its other brands, allowing the company to offer additional services and tools to its customers.

The acquisition gives Affinity access to the skills and experience of Bigstep's core development team, who will remain at the Bigstep offices in San Francisco.

"Affinity is gaining an exceptional new brand, one that has already won awards for its ability to get young, web-based companies up and running, utilizing the outstanding tools we have developed for entrepreneurs," Tomas Mikaelsson, CEO, Affinity, said. "Beyond that, we are looking forward to calling on the expertise of the Bigstep development team to compliment and expand on our current capabilities to create new services for other Affinity brands."

Bigstep sees joining Affinity as a chance to become a part of a progressive company with the business model and marketing expertise to become the leading web hosting company for the SMB market.

"Affinity obviously has a vision for where the industry is going and is demonstrating both great marketing savvy and the operations skill needed to dominate the market," says George Peterson, vice president, operations, Bigstep. "We feel we can make a sizable contribution to the brands offered by the company and add our software platform and development team."

Jupiter Media Metrix recently rated Bigstep the No. 2 web site services brand for small businesses, behind Microsoft. Bigstep also has won numerous awards, including a Forbes "Best of the Web" selection in the small business category, PC Magazine's "Editors' Choice" award and a nine out of 10 rating by C|net.

"We are pleased to see Bigstep joining forces with Affinity and being part of a larger enterprise," Allen Morgan, general partner, Mayfield, a major investor in Bigstep, said. "The two companies together can continue to serve the small business market even more effectively than each has done independently." (full story)

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