Mumbai, May 9, 2000 - Indiainfo.com, India's premier Internet portal network, today announced that it had entered into an agreement in principle to merge with India Abroad Publications Inc. - the oldest Indian newspaper in North America and the largest outside of India. This merger will be concurrent to the IPO of Indiainfo.com.

The merger agreement was signed by Mr. Raj Koneru, Chairman, Indiainfo.com and Mr. Gopal Raju, Founder and Chairman, India Abroad Group, whereby Indiainfo.com will gain access to India Abroad's huge content repository of news and events as well as content generated by its business affiliate, the New Delhi-based India Abroad News Service.

"This is a very exciting alliance for us. India Abroad is the premier source for information, and a household name with Indians, outside India, especially in USA and Canada. Our aim has always been to provide our users with up-to-date news that is both current and credible. This partnership helps us achieve that objective," said Mr. Koneru.

As per the agreement, Indiainfo.com will seek to leverage India Abroad's huge brand equity in the overseas market by branding and promoting its international edition as Indiaabroad.com.

"India Abroad is a very important name for Indians in the USA and Canada. We had to associate with a partner who had the capability to become a very important brand to all Indians. We found the right partner in Indiainfo.com, " said Mr. Gopal Raju.

Indiainfo.com had recently formed a strategic alliance with VSNL, whereby indiainfo.com will soon be the default login page for all VSNL subscribers. Indiainfo.com last made news with its acquisition of musicurry.com, a web radio site.

India Abroad has editions in New York Tri-State (New York/New Jersey/Connecticut), New York East Coast, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Toronto.

About Indiainfo.com The portal Indiainfo.com offers services that include search engines, directories, community products such as e-mail; chat; message boards, and e-commerce products. Affiliate sites, accessible through the flagship indiainfo.com portal, include careerindia.com, thatscricket.com, esharebazaar.com, musicurry.com and evesindia.com. indiainfo.com also offers unique services that include comprehensive personalisation of all content on indiainfo.com, online purchase of an exhaustive range of office stationery through Officeracks, auction services, and also extensive content in various Indian languages through their linguistic portals.

indiainfo.com is a comprehensive Internet solution and service provider, offering a portal network, advertising network, e-commerce products addressing both B2B and B2C markets, and Internet services including hosting, connectivity and development services. Indiainfo.com currently employs over 800 people in both India and the US, including Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, New Jersey and New York.

About India Abroad

India Abroad is the first and the largest selling weekly newspaper in the United States of America and Canada, to serve the Indian and South Asian community. India Abroad has six editions in New York Tri-State (New York/New Jersey/Connecticut), New York East Coast, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Toronto.

Established in 1970 and headquartered in New York City, India Abroad is the oldest Indian newspaper in North America and largest outside of India. It also has three sister publications namely, India in New York (which covers the metropolitan area of New York City), Gujarat Times (which caters to the Gujarati community in the US and Canada), and Sher-E-Punjab (which caters to the Punjabi community in the US and Canada).

Amongst its widely acclaimed affiliates are INDIA ABROAD NEWS SERVICE (IANS), New York based INDIA ABROAD FOUNDATION, and Washington based INDIA ABROAD CENTER FOR POLITICAL AWARENESS.

India Abroad and its sister publications have played a catalytic role in providing news and information that are of vital concern to the Indian American community. They are known for their strong and politically independent editorial content. The Indian has been relying on these newspapers for accurate reporting on a host of important issues including affirmative action, immigration laws and civil rights.

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