Hoover's Extends And Expands Agreement With America Online

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Alliance Enables America Online To Distribute Hoover's Company Information Across AOL, Netscape.com And CompuServe

AUSTIN, TEXAS - April 17, 2001 - Building on a seven-year relationship, Hoover's, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOV), a leading provider of online business information, tools, and content integration and syndication technology, today announced a new, expanded agreement with America Online, the world's leading interactive services company. Under the agreement, Hoover's reliable, high-quality content from Hoover's Online (http://www.hoovers.com), the premier online information resource for businesspeople, will be integrated into the Personal Finance Channels across several America Online brands.

Since 1993, Hoover's has been providing AOL members in-depth company information, primarily through AOL's Personal Finance Channel, which is the leading financial destination in cyberspace, according to Media Metrix, a Jupiter Media Metrix division and leading Internet audience measurement firm. Under this new expanded alliance, America Online will be able to make Hoover's Company Information on thousands of public and private enterprises worldwide available to broader areas across AOL, CompuServe and Netscape.com.

"AOL members are already familiar with Hoover's as a source for personal financial information because we've been on AOL for seven years," said Hoover's CEO Patrick Spain. "As both companies evolve, we will continue to adapt Hoover's information to better serve the needs of AOL's Personal Finance Channel audience, and we look forward to working together to deliver our content not only to AOL, but across CompuServe and Netscape as well. This agreement helps to reinforce Hoover's as the must-have partner when it comes to delivering high-quality online business tools and information."

"Hoover's is well-respected in the investment community, and has long been appreciated by AOL members for its breadth and depth of coverage, easy functionality and innovative business-related features," said Katherine Borsecnik, president of brand programming, America Online. "This extension of our solid and successful relationship will allow us to deliver the valuable resources our users expect, more easily and across more AOL brands."

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 (http://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, Texas, and has offices in London, New York City and San Francisco.

"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.

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