How Stuff Works Press Release

“HowStuffWorks is an attractive investment opportunity due to its valuable content, loyal user base and capable management team. I believe this investment of growth capital should enable the company to execute on its growth plans and capitalize on the significant opportunity in online content,” said Carl Icahn. Mr. Icahn’s investment will allow HowStuffWorks to expand the breadth and depth of its content to address the rapidly growing audience searching for trusted Internet-based information. Our plan is to expand the scope of topics covered by the site, and to greatly enhance the depth of the proprietary content by integrating new resources such as objective product reviews, consumer opinions and price comparisons to the in-depth explanations found on HowStuffWorks.com. Ultimately, the HowStuffWorks network will address all of the needs of information seekers, no matter where they are in the learning or buying cycle.

In accordance with that plan, the company also announced today that it has formed a strategic alliance with Publications International, Ltd. (PIL), a 30- year-old publisher of mass-market books which produces over 600 new titles annually. Through this alliance, HowStuffWorks has exclusive online rights to the vast PIL product library of over 10,000 books and 1 million images, access to over 350 writers and editors and all future content. The PIL library includes titles in most popular consumer categories such as home improvement, sports, “how-to,” medical and health, automotive, home design and cooking.

Additionally, HowStuffWorks has become the exclusive online publisher for two leading trusted sources of consumer reviews and ratings, Mobil Travel Guide® and Consumer Guide®. Mobil Travel Guide, owned by Exxon Mobil Corporation and licensed to PIL, is the originator of the prestigious Mobil Five Star Rating System® and offers independent, expert reviews on more than 15,000 lodging and dining establishments. Consumer Guide, established in 1967 and a division of PIL, is the leading provider of thousands of objective reviews and ratings of consumer products as well as new and used automobiles.”

My brother is quoted in the press release as saying:

“HowStuffWorks, an established and trusted information source, is the ideal online platform for us to digitize our books and showcase our content to a much broader and, at the same time, more targeted audience,” said Richard Maddrell, President of Publications International, Ltd. “We’re taking a unique approach to book digitization by transforming our comprehensive inventory of content into individual articles that are designed and presented specifically for online consumption. Also, since HowStuffWorks is acquiring the exclusive digital rights to all of our content and images, copyright and trademark issues will not be an issue. We’ll ultimately have hundreds of thousands of pieces that not only cover categories with mass-market appeal but also perfectly complement HowStuffWorks articles and seamlessly add value to the user experience.”