GenesisIntermedia.com Acquires Car Rental Direct.com

16 May 2000
GenesisIntermedia.com Acquires Car Rental Direct.com
    LOS ANGELES, May 16 GenesisIntermedia.com, Inc.
(PCX: GNS) (Frankfurt: GIA), a leading developer of Internet
technologies and Internet companies, announced that it has acquired Car Rental
Direct.com, Inc. (CRD), a fast growing car rental agency that provides
vehicles for the local and replacement segments of the $16.9 billion auto
rental industry.
    Car Rental Direct.com has a highly memorable web brand name, and eight
existing locations in Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada.  GENI will
infuse capital, as well as expertise in marketing, management, Internet
development and other key areas into the CRD subsidiary in order to reach the
goals of becoming the leader in business-to-business and business-to-consumer
car rental activity on the Internet, and of opening a minimum of 225 locations
within three years.  CRD, which has been in operation under a year, is
currently generating revenues exceeding $400,000 per month, and has already
met its operational break-even point.
    Complementing its unique business model and innovative growth strategies,
CRD benefits from a strong management team with a combined 60 years experience
in the automobile rental industry.  The team brings a broad variety of
competencies, and depth of experience.
    This is GENI's fifth acquisition in accordance with its development
business model.  GENI will use its core competencies to build a high-impact
Internet presence for CRD and initiate other processes that will enable CRD to
enjoy significant growth in the local and replacement rental car market.
Augmenting an existing web site, the proposed enhanced site will list not only
car availability, locations, hours of operation and the standard operational
information, but will also contain specifications on the cars in inventory,
and will allow for the safe transmission of not only credit card, but driver's
license information, so that cars could be ordered completely online, and
delivered to the customer's front door.  CRD locations will continue to be
established in the suburban markets, within the actual neighborhoods where
consumers live, and not strictly by airports.  By being the first car rental
company to offer online resources to the suburban market, CRD will benefit
from increased consumer accessibility.
    Its strategic growth plan calls for the establishment of a franchise
system under which existing independent car rental agencies would become Car
Rental Direct.com locations and under which franchise territories would be
granted to franchisees who meet certain criteria.  Its growth plan also places
emphasis and importance on Internet traffic.  CRD will determine, based on the
origin of traffic to its web site, the geographic areas into which it will
expand.
    "Synergistically, this acquisition is a perfect fit for GENI, as Car
Rental Direct.com targets an underserved niche market that has tremendous
potential, both as a brick-and-mortar operation and as an Internet company,"
stated Ramy El-Batrawi, Chairman of GenesisIntermedia.com, Inc.  "With rental
car needs increasing for consumers in their everyday lives due to repairs to
owned vehicles and temporary needs, consumers need easy access to rental cars
at locations other than airports."
    Further synergies exist between CRD, GENI and CENTERLINQ.  GENI plans to
advertise CRD over its CENTERLINQ network, which currently creates 22 million
impressions per month and is building a solid base of loyalty shopper accounts
throughout the United States.  CENTERLINQ account holders will receive
discounts for automobile rentals through CRD.
    "We are excited about this acquisition and the long-term benefits we
believe it will bring to GENI," continued El-Batrawi.  "We expect to realize
several major benefits from this acquisition including building a leading
brand in the local and replacement car rental market, adding an important
revenue stream to GENI, expanding the scope of our e-commerce capabilities,
increasing opportunities to cross-promote CENTERLINQ and our other
technologies, and, most importantly, adding to our profitability and
increasing our growth rate.  The growth plan for CRD will be augmented by a
presence on the CENTERLINQ network, and this will be the first of hopefully
many GENI-owned companies that we will promote through our proprietary
resources."
    The replacement segment of the auto rental industry consists of rental for
the purpose of temporary fleet enhancement, temporary replacement of vehicles
that have been sold, stolen or being repaired for mechanical or accident
related reasons.  This segment is characterized by lower administrative and
marketing costs and higher fleet utilization than the non-replacement segment,
thereby potentially creating a higher return on investment.
    CRD is also approved under the American Disabilities Act, and will have
the ability to offer hand controls for all vehicles, and wheelchair access
vans.