8 JUNE 2000 AMSERVE WELCOMES DIXONS GROUP PLC AS 20% SHAREHOLDER IN E-M@ILER VENTURE Amstrad plc announced today that the Dixons Group Plc has taken a 20% stake in its wholly owned subsidiary, Amserve Limited, in a £15 million deal. Amserve was formed earlier this year to operate the company's business generated by the Amstrad e-m@iler product, in terms of unit sales and downstream revenue from e-mail traffic and interactive advertising. The e-m@iler was launched at the end of March and is now being delivered to the market in high volumes. Dixons will provide advertising and service support and distribution investment in support of the product valued at £12 million, and £3 million in cash. Sir Alan Sugar, chairman of Amstrad plc, welcomed the agreement by saying: "Dixons is the pre-eminent retailer of mass market consumer electronic goods, their investment demonstrates their belief in the great potential of the e-m@iler and the Amserve Service. When combined with their retailing strength, it is a tremendous endorsement for the product and the revenue potential." "Although the e-m@iler was announced just over two months ago, and has been in retail distribution for less than one month, the consumer interest has been intense. The demand for the e-m@iler compares with that created by the Amstrad word processor, which also brought affordable technology to the mass market at exactly the right time. We are delighted that the Dixons Group will stock the e-m@iler in all 1000 Dixons, Currys, PC World and The Link stores in the UK." "We have already signed up Britannia Music and Direct Line as advertisers, and are in discussion with other national brands." John Clare, chief executive of the Dixons Group, said: "There is a definite pent up demand in the market for a product that will give non-technical people really easy access to e-mail services. Once again, Sir Alan has shown that he has his finger on the pulse of high tech products. The e-m@iler makes emailing both accessible and affordable to the mass market." "Our retail chains are perfectly positioned to maximise the sales and distribution of the product and we look forward to working with Amstrad to make the product a great success", continued Mr Clare. For further information please contact Andrew Bloch/Eva Sogbanmu/Gavin Lewis at Frank PR 0207 693 6999 or Gavin@frankpr.it / Andrew@frankpr.it Go to News Headlines