Hoover's And Bell & Howell Partner To Expose Millions To Expansive Business Content

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Deal To Broaden Hoover's Exposure To Worldwide Audience With Access To Bell & Howell ProQuest Database

AUSTIN, TEXAS - March 6, 2001 - Hoover's, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOV), the premier provider of online business information, tools, and content integration and syndication technology, and Bell & Howell's (NYSE: BHW) Information and Learning unit today announced a cross-licensing agreement designed to expose each company's high-quality business content to the other partner's considerable audience base. Bell & Howell's Web-based ProQuest service will be available to Hoover's Online (www.hoovers.com) Business Subscribers, while the extensive Hoover's Online database, as well as customized applications developed by Hoover's Media Technologies (HMT), will be available to ProQuest subscribers.

As part of the agreement, Hoover's Online Business Subscribers will gain direct access to ProQuest's databases of current and archived full-text articles from more than 4,600 daily newspapers, industry journals, newswires and trade magazines, through the newly created Hoover's Online Publication and Journal Search tool. Customers who use HMT products such as the Hoover's Intelligence Monitor will also have the option of searching for and retrieving articles from the extensive ProQuest online information service.

"By entering into this deal, Hoover's Online Business Subscribers gain access to Bell & Howell's ProQuest knowledge base, making it easier for them to keep up with the companies, industries, people and products that matter most to them. At the same time, users of Hoover's Intelligence Monitor can access more of ProQuest's content from an additional 1,900 sources," said Carl Shepherd, executive vice president of Hoover's.

Additionally, as announced in January, Bell & Howell will add proprietary Hoover's Company Information on approximately 17,000 public and private enterprises worldwide to both the ProQuest online information service and Xanedu, Bell & Howell's new online service for college students.

"Xanedu and ProQuest are research products created for students, librarians and academic researchers. By integrating Hoover's Company Information into these existing products, researchers gain a valuable resource for getting the information they want as quickly and effortlessly as possible. Faculty, librarians and students who need immediate and easy access to company information will now have access to the Web's premier source of company information within the context of the Bell & Howell service they know and trust," Shepherd added.

"The addition of Hoover's rich content further enhances our business databases and allows us to offer seamless and fast access to our academic audience, directly from article text into Hoover's Company Information, via hypertext links," said Todd Fegan, vice president of Bell & Howell Information and Learning. "We're also excited to be able to offer our premium collection of content to Hoover's, allowing us to reach one of the largest pure business audiences on the Web today through Hoover's Online and Hoover's Intelligence Monitor."

About Hoover's, Inc.

Hoover's, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOV) provides online business information, tools, and content integration and syndication technology to help businesspeople get their jobs done. Hoover's information is available through its destination sites Hoover's Online (www.hoovers.com) and the company's other sites in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K., through syndication and co-branding agreements with more than 30 other online services, and through customized applications developed for enterprise information portals, corporate intranets and business-to-business vertical and content sites. Hoover's investors include AOL Time Warner (NYSE: AOL), Media General (AMEX: MEG.A), NBC -- a unit of General Electric (NYSE: GE), and Knowledge Universe, through its Knowledge Net Holdings and Nextera Enterprises (Nasdaq: NXRA) units. Hoover's is headquartered in Austin, TX, and has offices in Linthicum, MD; London; New York City; Reston, VA; and San Francisco.

About Bell & Howell Information and Learning

Bell & Howell Company (NYSE:BHW), headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI, is a leading information solutions and services provider to industries worldwide. In each of its businesses, the company transforms information through software and services, helping its customers operate more effectively and efficiently. Additional information on Bell & Howell Company can be found at www.bellhowell.com.

Bell & Howell Information and Learning (formerly UMI) is a world leader in collecting, organizing, and distributing information worldwide to researchers, faculty, and students in libraries and schools. Known widely for its strength in business and economics, general-reference, humanities, social sciences, and STM content, the company develops premium databases comprising periodicals, newspapers, dissertations, out-of-print books, and other scholarly information from more than 8,500 publishers worldwide. Users access the information through ProQuest, the company's Web-based online information system, Chadwyck-Healey electronic and microform resources, and UMI microform and print reference products. For more information about Bell & Howell Information and Learning, visit www.infolearning.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events or results that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the expected benefits of strategic relationships, future services and new products. Among the important factors which could cause actual results of Hoover's to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are the market demand and acceptance of new and enhanced services, the success of new features and tools from Hoover's Online and Hoover's Media Technologies, the retention of subscribers and customers, ability to attract new subscribers and customers, competition, economic conditions specific to the Internet, as well as general economic and market conditions and other factors described in Hoover's reports and documents filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its prospectus and recent 10-K and 10-Q filings.

Contacts