NORFOLK, VA, November 1999:  In yet another sign of consolidation in even the most remote corners of the Internet business world, longtime parody site Nedscape Communications (www.nedscape.com) was bought out by Ned Hat Software (www.nedhat.com), a relative newcomer to the crowded field of online yuks.

Details of the transaction, which must be approved by Nedscape's shareholder, were not announced, but sources in both companies say that Ned Hat's wildly overpriced stock will likely finance the acquisition.

Some questioned the move, noting the relative staleness of the Nedscape pages over the last 12-18 months - and observed that Nedscape's fortunes have seemed to wane along with those of its Mountain View muse, which was acquired by America Online last year.

"Frankly, they're just not as relevant anymore, with the browser war lost and the antitrust case wrapping up," said one analyst.  "And come on, how can any parody of AOL be any funnier than the real thing?"

Indeed, the Nedscape site, which dates back to June 1996, was once frequented by hundreds of actual Netscape employees, and pageviews numbered in the hundreds of thousands per month.  But the site took on an increasingly shrill tone - blasting its famous cousin for its blunders in the browser war with Microsoft, and even seeming sympathetic to the Redmond colossus in its battle with the U.S. Justice Department.

Acquirer Ned Hat, by contrast, had a surprisingly successful IPO in recent weeks (OTC: NHAT), which observers attributed largely to erroneous brokerage orders for another similarly named company.  Ned Hat Software chairman Ned Lilly, in a prepared statement for the Securities and Exchange Commission, attempted to clarify any misunderstanding:  "Our company provides tools and support for freely available, open-source Internet parody sites.  By leveraging the global distribution of the strategic lampooning community, we can provide best-of-breed applications for our target space."

For more details, or for a Ned Hat prospectus, please contact Investor Relations.