|
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 26, 2004--Walnut Ventures Inc., which signed a letter of intent last week to merge
and combine operations with MBSL Group, Inc. (MBGR.PK -
News), has added the former director of business development with
Overture (now a wholly owned subsidiary of Yahoo) to its executive team.
Robert Hoult has been named Walnut's new Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Hoult has extensive experience in
building strategic partnerships and in addition to heading Walnut's Business Development efforts, will be identifying
and evaluating acquisition targets to support its aggressive growth strategy.
As Director of Business Development for Overture for five years, Hoult brokered a variety of Overture's largest
distribution deals across multiple distribution channels. Prior to Overture, he spent five years with The Learning
Company in Sales and Marketing where he was responsible for software sales and promotion across multiple retail channels.
Dan O'Donnell, CEO of Walnut said: "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to add a person of Robert's caliber to the
Walnut management team. His extensive search industry experience and vast network of contacts gives us an industry
heavyweight to head our business development efforts and drive our business forward as we complete our planned merger
with MBSL and continue to work toward other acquisition targets."
Said Mr. Hoult: "I believe the business strategy that Walnut and MBSL offer is an ideal fit for my background. I look
forward to joining the dynamic Walnut management team to help continue to build their search business and assist with
acquisition strategy," he said.
MBSL Group Chairman Frank McPartland commented: "The strong management team that first attracted us to Walnut continues
to get stronger."
As previously announced October 18, Walnut Ventures signed a letter of intent to merge into MBSL Group. Headquartered in
San Francisco, Walnut owns a number of revenue producing Internet search properties that operate in the same space as
firms like Google (GOOG), Mamma.com (MAMA), InfoSpace (INSP) and AskJeeves (ASKJ). Walnut has long-standing partnerships
with the top PPC search results providers and has a unique competitive advantage via its meta-search technology, which
provides users with "one-stop shopping" for the best search results offered throughout the Internet.
More information about Walnut Ventures can be obtained at its website:
www.walnut-ventures.com or by contacting the
company at 415-962-9700.
MBSL Group, a publicly traded holding company based in Tampa, Fla., was established to acquire or strategically partner
with firms that specialize in providing technology support to the financial and transaction processing industries.
More information about MBSL Group can be obtained at its website:
www.mbslgroup.com or by contacting the company at
813-636-8020. MBSL Group's stock is listed on the National Quotation Bureau.
Except for historical information, matters discussed above are forward-looking statements within the meaning of
safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. Those factors include,
but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors affecting the Company's
operations, markets, services and related products, prices or other areas.
|
