Infomedia Renews Ford Europe Data License for 5 Years

SYDNEY, Australia, July 11 -- Infomedia Ltd announced today that Ford of Europe and the company have successfully completed negotiations that have resulted in the renewal and expansion of their 1997 data license agreement for another five years.

Infomedia is the international developer of Microcat®, the leading electronic parts selling system for the automotive industry. The Microcat system is designed to make the identification and sale of vehicle replacement parts quick, easy and accurate. The Microcat EPC system is well regarded by automakers around the world for its superior functionality, quality and value for money.

Gary Martin, General Manager of Infomedia's Electronic Catalogues Division announced, "We are genuinely excited about the renewal of our long and cordial business relationship with Ford Europe and the exciting new opportunities for expansion that this revised agreement provides for both Ford and Infomedia."

Mr. Martin went on to explain, "The commercial environment for the automotive industry in Europe has changed a lot during the past five years, and three things stand out above all others to exemplify this change. The first is the level of computer sophistication at the dealerships. Second is the pervasiveness of the Internet. And, third is the removal of Block Exemption for the automotive industry in the European Community."

European Community Block Exemption is a body of legislation that affects the organization, representation and delivery of automotive products and services throughout the European Union. Removing Block Exemption is expected to materially change the consumer face of the auto industry in Europe by requiring automakers, amongst other things, to provide non-dealers with the same vehicle documentation previously reserved only for their dealership franchisees.

Richard Graham, Chairman and CEO of Infomedia said, "During these past seven months of discussion and analysis with Ford, perhaps the thing that was most important for Infomedia and I believe for Ford too, is that neither party could predict or model with certainty how Block Exemption will reshape the role of workshop documentation and automotive productivity tools like Microcat. This is new territory for those involved and there is no roadmap. I believe we both concluded however that Block Exemption could cause a material growth in demand for such tools." He then added, "As such, we both wanted to maintain flexibility in order to respond to whatever opportunities needed to be addressed in the future."

According to Mr. Graham, it appeared that both parties wanted to approach this new frontier with innovative CD-ROM and Internet solutions; open markets and value for money pricing.

An accord was struck that renewed the agreement for five years, the first two of which are exclusive and the later three provide for the possibility of developing an exciting competitive market to service a much larger and diverse audience than exists today.

Additionally, Ford Europe officially annexed for the first time, Infomedia's two Internet EPC technologies into the agreement. The first is Microcat LIVE(TM), a professional-grade EPC application that provides a fully online alternative to the CR-ROM version of the system. The other is Microcat Fresh(tm), an online EPC and e-commerce technology specially conceived to serve the independent motor trade that Block Exemption has unleashed. In doing so, Ford becomes the second automaker in Europe to embrace Infomedia's 'Fresh' technology.

In consideration of the competitive freedom extended by Ford to Infomedia in years 3 to 5 of this renewal and the much larger market potential as a result of the Block Exemption opportunity, the company has framed a new volume pricing provision for the agreement.

"In my view, Ford and Infomedia have had an exemplary customer and supplier relationship that has lasted twelve fruitful years and which we intend to respect and nurture well into the future," Richard Graham stated. "We are grateful to Ford and its managers for granting us the opportunity of moving toward an open and competitive marketplace in two years time. We know that Infomedia's technology and commercial models flourish in a competitive environment."

It is also intended that Ford North America, Ford Asia/Pacific and Ford Australia/New Zealand will also be renewing their individual license agreements with Infomedia for a full five-year term recommencing this month.

An EPC is a sophisticated business software application that aids parts and service personnel in a dealership to determine the correct replacement parts for a vehicle, from the hundreds of thousands of parts in stock. The Microcat parts selling system, operates both from traditional ROM-discs and via the Internet. Its speed of operation, smooth integration with order entry systems, broad choice of features and easy to use graphical interface, makes it very popular with users and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

Infomedia Ltd is a publicly listed company, which specialises in the development and licensing of information technology solutions for automotive dealerships around the world. Its flagship electronic parts catalogue (EPC) product, Microcat (R), is used in 144 countries and 25 languages. Its Business Systems division provides sophisticated online automotive accounting and customer process systems for large and multi-franchised dealers in Australia. Datateck Publishing Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Infomedia, provides specialized OEM analytical work for parts catalogues and service documentation. The company is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and its trading code is IFM. Its new Retail Products Group are the creators of 'eziMerchant(TM) Professional' the leading off-the-shelf e-commerce enabling suite for small to medium enterprises.

Microcat, Datateck and Infomedia are registered trademarks and Microcat FRESH, Microcat LIVE and eziMerchant are trademarks of Infomedia Ltd.