I know some of you aren't going to like seeing a press release here, and I 
hereby invite you to hit delete now.  But the following is definitely news 
about an online service company, as is this list, so here goes.  I was 
advised that the politically correct way to get this information to this 
list would be to send it to a list member and have him/her forward it. 
Hmmmm. Well, I *am* a list member so let's just skip that step.

Kristine



CONTACTS:
CONCENTRIC RESEARCH
KRISTINE LOOSLEY
(800) 745-2747; E-MAIL: KLOOSLEY@CONCENTRIC.NET
GOLDMAN SACHS
ED NOVOTNY
(212) 902-5400

CONCENTRIC RESEARCH CORPORATION OBTAINS INVESTMENT CAPITAL
FROM KLEINER PERKINS AND GOLDMAN SACHS

MAY 15, 1995, BAY CITY, MICH.   Concentric Research Corp., a rapidly growing 
online services and Internet access provider, has received equity financing 
from two prominent online industry investors, CRC co-founder Marc 
Collins-Rector said today.

CRC recently launched the Concentric Network, which offers flat-rate 
nationwide dial-up access to the Internet and CRC's own online services 
through a privately owned network of over 125 local points of presence. The 
Concentric Network is the first private frame relay data network to provide 
nationwide dial-up access to the nation's largest electronic bulletin boards 
systems (BBSs), through its BBS Direct service.

CRC recently sold a joint minority stake in the company for an undisclosed 
amount to an affiliate of the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm of 
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and the New York City-based GS Capital 
Partners, L.P., an affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co. 

"We are extremely pleased to partner with investors of the caliber and 
reputation of Kleiner, Perkins and Goldman Sachs," said Randy Maslow, CRC's 
Vice President for Business Development and General Counsel. "We will use 
the proceeds of the investment to expand our network and market our online 
services. With the help of our new partners, we also intend to rapidly 
enhance CRC's senior management team." 

"We have a philosophy that we invest only in companies that we perceive to 
be 10 times faster, more cost-effective or somehow better than what exists 
in the marketplace," said Vinod Khosla, a partner at Kleiner Perkins.  
"Content is king in the online world, and BBS Direct makes available some of 
the best online content in the country in a cost-effective and easy-to-use 
manner."  Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has been the original venture 
investor in a number of technology and multimedia firms, including America 
Online, Ascend, Compaq, Electronic Arts, Intuit, Lotus, Macromedia, NetScape 
Communications, Sun Microsystems, Sybase, Spectrum Holobyte and 3DO.

CRC's primary online product is BBS Direct, a network of dedicated 
connections to 32 of the nation's largest and best known electronic bulletin 
board systems. BBS Direct makes long distance charges for BBS callers 
obsolete by permitting customers to connect to the BBSs via a local phone 
call into the Concentric Network. CRC also provides nationwide dial-up 
access to the Internet, including the ability to use graphical browsers for 
point-and-click access to the World Wide Web. A subscription also includes 
access to a proprietary on-line service called CRIS that offers multi-player 
games, real-time conferencing, electronic mail and other online service 
offerings.
 
Subscriptions to the Concentric Network include bundled access to BBS 
Direct, CRIS,  and the Internet. Subscriptions cost just $29.95 a month for 
unlimited connect time through local points of presence. For rural customers 
who live outside dial-up access points, 800-number service is available for 
$5 an hour. Customers with Internet access from another provider can telnet 
to the Concentric Network and connect with its services for a flat rate of 
$10 a month for unlimited time.

"Our vision is that of an on-line environment where the Internet, BBSs and 
online services are integrated instead of competing," Collins-Rector said. 
"Until BBS Direct, for example, some of the nation's finest online content 
was available only by dialing long distance to BBS locations.  BBS Direct 
now consolidates the content of 32 of the nation's best systems and makes 
them available through the Concentric Network with just a local phone call." 
The company intends to rapidly add additional BBSs to the BBS Direct 
service, Collins-Rector added.

Collins-Rector and his partner Chad Shackley founded Concentric in 1991. "We 
started this company in a garage," Collins-Rector said.  "We  are extremely 
pleased to see the company progress to the point that Kleiner Perkins and 
Goldman Sachs want to partner with us." 

Customers can obtain information about the Concentric Network by calling 
(800) 745-2747.
--END--


Kristine Loosley                                 email: kris@concentric.net
Public Relations Manager                http://www.cris.com/~kris
Concentric Research Corp.             voice: 517 895 0500



From rballard@cnj.digex.net Thu May 18 01:13:57 1995