WhiteFence Press Room

Millions of Households on the Move Now Have Access to Localized Area Services From One-Stop Shop, Movearoo.com

DALLAS, DENVER and NEW YORK – Moving just got a lot easier. With more than 20 million U.S. households (approximately 57 million people) expected to move this year, a new program and Web site — with the motto “You move. We Jump” — are being launched to reduce the stresses of moving for consumers coast-to-coast.

Beginning Wednesday (July 9), movers across the country can plan their move step-by-step at www.movearoo.com, a cost-free, interactive resource that delivers real-time assistance to consumers, while easing the entire moving process. By simply entering a home address, Movearoo helps consumers with everything from identifying the right moving company to conveniently setting up home-related services, such as phone, high-speed Internet, TV, electricity, natural gas and more.

Movearoo was established by a consortium of leading communications companies, including AT&T, Qwest and Verizon, and was developed and is managed by WhiteFence, the nation’s leading online comparison-shopping marketplace for residential home services.

When families across the country make the decision to move, they can count on Movearoo to help make that process easier. Movearoo.com is one of the most convenient and efficient places online to comparison shop and order more than a dozen critical move and home-related services – all from one place, according to the Movearoo consortium.

In addition to comparison shopping for essential home-related services, such as voice, high-speed Internet and video services on Movearoo.com, movers can:

• Set up gas and electric service.
• Change mailing address without a trip to the post office.
• Request mover quotes and order moving supplies.
• Find tips and manage the move process using an interactive checklist.
• Subscribe to newspapers delivery, and other home services, at a new address.
• Research and rent home appliances, furniture and more.

Future enhancements will also include a realtor and apartment finder, cost of living data, local amenities, mortgage and insurance information, as well as other tools to assist with the transition from one home to another. For customers who want extra help, Movearoo representatives are available to chat live with customers at www.movearoo.com. Movers can also call (877) 771-0771 for additional assistance.

About Movearoo

Movearoo is a powerful online marketplace for consumers to shop for, order and save money on home essential services such as phone, TV, Internet and utilities. Movearoo is established by a consortium of leading communications companies including AT&T, Qwest and Verizon. The Web site was developed and is managed by WhiteFence, the nation’s leading online comparison-shopping marketplace for residential home services.

Media Contacts:

Sarah Illingworth, AT&T

617-692-0516

sarah.illingworth@fleishman.com

Margaret Fogarty, Qwest

303-965-6950

margaret.fogarty@qwest.com

Bill Kula, APR, Verizon

972-718-6924

william.kula@verizon.com

Ellen Yu, Verizon

908-559-3496

ellen.yu@verizon.com

Chip Smith, WhiteFence

713-663-0154

csmith@whitefence.com

Houston-area Authors to Appear at Event to Benefit Children's Literacy Program

Houston, TX (PRWEB) June 18, 2008 -- Houston-area children will get a chance to hear popular children's stories read to them by the authors themselves at the first ever WhiteFence and Reach Out and Read Texas Book Fair at the Barnes and Noble at Westheimer Crossing Saturday, June 21. The book fair will give people a chance to have 10 to 20 percent of the proceeds of any purchase they make that day donated to the Reach Out and Read Texas region as well as to donate gently used books.
  
Reach Out and Read is an organization that encourages doctors to talk to parents about the importance of reading aloud and to give books to children at pediatric check-ups from six months to five years of age.
  
"Instilling a love of books and reading in our kids is one of the most important things we can do as parents and as a community," said Eric Danziger, CEO of Houston-based WhiteFence. "We hope this book fair can help encourage the love of books as well as raise awareness and provide support for Reach Out and Read Texas."
  
In addition to story time with local authors, there will be arts and crafts, treats, costumed characters, and local doctors there to talk about the importance of reading.
  
What: WhiteFence & Reach Out and Read Texas Book Fair
  
When: Saturday June 21 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
  
Where: Barnes and Noble Westheimer Crossing
            7626 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77063 - tel: 713-783-1220
  
Who: Story time runs from 11:00-4:00 with the following authors/illustrators:
Dotti Enderle (author of Grandpa for Sale)
Jo Harper (author of I Could Eat You Up)
Randi Yocum (author of Cowpie Corgi)
Ellen Leventhal (author of Don't Eat the Bluebonnets)
Bill Megenhardt (illustrator of Don't Eat the Bluebonnets and Giraffe of Montana)
Kimberly Morris (author of 60 books for children and young adults including several popular series for Disney)
  
Why: To promote the importance of reading with children, and to collect donations of books and money for Reach Out and Read Texas. Gently used children's books can also be donated at the event and are appreciated.
  

About Reach Out and Read

Founded in 1989 at Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center), Reach Out and Read is the result of the hard work and collaboration between pediatricians, family physicians, nurses and early childhood educators. Reach Out and Read serves 3.3 million children annually, distributing over 5.4 million books through more than 50,000 pediatricians, nurses, residents and health professionals. There are more than 3,797 ROR programs based on the ROR model at clinics, hospitals, and health centers in all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.
  
Main - http://reachoutandread.org/index.aspx
Reach Out and Read - Texas - http://www.uth.tmc.edu/rortx/about.html
  

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet and more as a free service. WhiteFence's powerful online ordering system makes it easy for millions of U.S. households to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes.
  
http://www.whitefence.com
  

About Dotti Enderle

Dotti Enderle is a native Texan, a Houston resident and the author of numerous books for children and educators, including picture books, Grandpa for Sale and The Cotton Candy Catastrophe at the Texas State Fair. Dottie Enderle began publishing in 1995, writing for popular children's magazines with stories in Babybug, Ladybug, Children's Playmate, Nature Friend, Turtle and more.
  
http://www.dottienderle.com/index.html
  

About Jo Harper

Jo Harper is the award winning author of books for all grade levels, including the Western Heritage Wrangler award winning Delfino's Journey, Willa Award winner Prairie Dog Pioneers and the A.B.A. Pick List OUTRAGEOUS, BODACIOUS BOLIVER BOGGS. Her newest book, I COULD EAT YOU UP!, is a Book-of-the-Month Club winner. Jo Harper is a local resident and teaches classes at Houston Community College.
  
http://home.earthlink.net/~joharper/index.html
  

About Ellen Leventhal and Bill Megenhardt

Ellen Leventhal is a Houston area author/educator originally from the Northeast. Don't Eat the Bluebonnets, a collaboration with Ellen Rothberg, is the first published book from a woman who has more than 30 years of experience working with children. Ellen Leventhal holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a master's degree in special education.
  
Bill Megenhardt graduated from Kent State University with a BFA in Graphic Design, and has provided illustrations for children's books including Don't Eat the Bluebonnets, Giraffe of Montana, Grandma Spoils Me and Sad Sam, Glad Sam. Mr. Megenhardt currently resides in Houston with his son and works as a freelance graphic designer/ illustrator.
  

About Kimberly Morris

Kimberly Morris is the author of 60 books for children and young adults. Her large body of work includes popular series for Disney such as 'Fairies', 'That's So Raven', 'Mary-Kate and Ashley', 'Animorphs', 'Sweet Valley', and 'Generation Girl'. She has also produced read-aloud stories for the 'Muppets', 'Muppet Babies', and 'Fraggle Rock', and animated television scripts for the classic 'ThunderCats.' Kimberly Morris currently provides motivational writing workshops for students K-12 and adults, as well as serving as Director of Project Development for Publishing Matters, a Houston-based custom publishing company, producing content for corporations, schools, and nonprofits.
  
http://www.kimberlymorris.com/
  

About Randi Yocum

Randi was born and raised in Houston, attended the University of Arizona and received a BA in English from the University of Houston. She is a member of the Society of Children's Bookwriters and Illustrators. She has been actively involved for over 35 years with Appaloosa horses; breeding, training and exhibiting. Dogs are also a large part of her life and she is intimately acquainted with both corgis and cowpies. She lives on a ranch in Fayette county with her husband, 9 horses, 1 cat and 3 dogs, one of whom is a corgi.

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Accomplished marketing executive to drive marketing strategies for WhiteFence and its network of Web sites, products and services

Houston (PRWEB) June 17, 2008 -- WhiteFence, the nation's leading online comparison-shopping marketplace for residential home services, today announced that Chip Smith has joined the company as its Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. Smith will lead the development and execution of marketing strategies for WhiteFence and its vast network of Web sites, products and services.
  
Smith has more than 20 years of consumer and business-to-business marketing experience. Prior to joining WhiteFence, Smith was responsible for Global Media at Monster.com in New York, where he managed Monster's media analytics, business development and global media strategy teams. Smith holds a bachelor's degree in finance and an MBA in marketing and finance from the University of Tennessee.
  
"We are thrilled to have someone with Chip's vast interactive marketing experience and energy join the WhiteFence leadership team," said WhiteFence CEO Eric Danziger. "We're confident he will be a valued asset to the company and that the WhiteFence brands will thrive under his direction."
   
Prior to his global media role at Monster.com, Chip was Senior Vice President of Online Marketing with responsibility for generating online business-to-business revenue and consumer resumes. Before that, he served as director of marketing for a division of Johnson Controls in Atlanta. He began his career in marketing with Ryder System in Miami.
  
"WhiteFence is a great tool for families trying to save time and money while shopping for home services and I'm excited about the opportunity to expand the WhiteFence audience," said Smith.

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet, banking and more. WhiteFence's proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households, including movers, to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes.

WhiteFence's COO Jeff Wagoner was interviewed today on Fox's Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. Mr. Wagoner discussed how WhiteFence can help consumers lower their utility and home service bills by comparing and ordering through WhiteFence. To view the interview, you can watch the video here.

Continue reading "WhiteFence Featured on Fox's Morning Show with Mike and Juliet" »

There's been some buzz lately about the WhiteFence Index. Check out the story, Utility bills in Houston highest in the nation, survey shows, by Ford Gunter, reporter for the Houston Business Journal.

CBS 13 of Sacramento recently featured WhiteFence in their "Save with Dave" segment, calling WhiteFence a site that alleviates a lot of the hassle of moving. You should check out the video on WhiteFence here.

The Consumer's Edge section of the San Antonio Express-News recently included a story on WhiteFence's value to you, the consumer. According to the article,  "instead of spending hours searching the Web or talking to customer service representatives, point your Internet browser to WhiteFence.com of Houston. When you visit the free site, you'll enter your address and get instant home-service pricing information. If you like, you can pick a service and sign up right away."

To read the whole article, you can go to the San Antonio Express-News Web site.

The recent WhiteFence Index launch garnered some interest from Denver Post writer David Migoya.  If you don't have time to read the whole article, though you should as it is quite entertaining (as well as informative), you can read this snippet:

"I tried a sample address to see how it worked — and it’s a national service — and sure enough, the right providers were listed and simple buttons to “sign up” for service.

The best part is it’s free. The consumer pays nothing — just as if they made the phone calls themselves to all the providers — to have things set up. And for when a utility requires a credit card, the information is on a secure website, says WhiteFence Sr. VP of Customer Experience (I love that new-fangled title!) Robbie Wright."

With a grand prize estimated at $54,000, Judy Cook was recently awarded free electricity for life from ElectricityTexas.com, an online marketplace for comparing prices and plans from electricity companies in the deregulated Texas market. Participating contestants provided a 100 to 300 word essay on conserving energy in Texas with the Plano, Texas resident's essay highlighting the importance of passing positive conservation habits to younger generations. Ms. Cook stressed setting an example for her children and grandchildren in her winning essay, citing the importance of energy conservation for future generations.

Further details on the "Win Free Electricity for Life" contest can be found in the WhiteFence press release.

Free new Web tool enables realtors to help clients set up utilities and home services from their Website

HOUSTON, TX, November 20, 2007 - WhiteFence, the nation's leading one-stop online comparison shopping marketplace for residential home services, announced today the release of the WhiteFence Home Services Widget, an innovative way for realtors to provide their clients with the consumer benefits that are exclusive to using WhiteFence. Millions of consumers have used WhiteFence to shop for, compare and connect their home service needs, including essentials like home phone service, electricity, cable, high speed internet, newspapers and other categories. With this brand new widget, WhiteFence is now making their one-of-a-kind service available to realtor Web sites, a valuable and convenient tool for clients during the move process.

This new condensed version of WhiteFence.com was created to:

• Allow companies wanting to add value to their Web sites the ability to append the Home Service Widget to their site.
• Facilitate the search for home services at a specific address by allowing consumers to view plan information and prices in real time.
• Provide the ability to place an order through the WhiteFence engine instantly and easily.

"The Home Services Widget allows realtor and other sites to enhance their consumers' experience," said Jeff Wagoner, WhiteFence chief operations officer. "Companies that add supplemental benefits to their sites increase the likelihood of inspiring the consumer to be a loyal, lifetime customer."

The WhiteFence Home Services Widget is available and can be easily downloaded at http://www.whitefence.com/widget.

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet, banking and more. Its proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes. WhiteFence is a 2007 finalist for the Platt's Global Energy Rising Star Award. The privately held company is based in Houston, Texas, and is backed by Adams Street Partners and Internet Capital Group.

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Leading e-commerce engine for local and digital services continues to expand scope

HOUSTON, TX, November 14, 2007 - WhiteFence, the nation's leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace for residential home services, announced today that it has purchased the technology software, intellectual property rights and domain name of GetConnected, Inc. (www.GetConnected.com). GetConnected, Inc., a Boston-based company, developed and managed an e-commerce and integration platform service for merchants such as Best Buy, AOL, Circuit City and Radio Shack.

"WhiteFence's technology has been the best in this industry for many years - from front-end to back-end," said Eric Danziger, WhiteFence CEO. "This acquisition will expand the scope of our integration capabilities and enable us to immediately serve a broader range of business partners."

Through WhiteFence, consumers across the United States are able to compare and order a wide array of home essential services from multiple service providers. WhiteFence has implemented hundreds of back-end order processing integrations with major phone, TV, energy, and other service provider partners.

"With back-end integrations being a key value component of what we offer to our partners, expanding our capabilities with GetConnected's technology is valuable to WhiteFence's growth," said WhiteFence CTO Ken Myers. "Our real-time server-to-server integrations provide tremendous cost efficiencies and better customer service, creating significant value for all constituencies working with WhiteFence in gaining new customers."

In June 2007, WhiteFence also acquired competitor ConnectUtilities, LLC, a Louisiana-based company that provided online and offline utility connection services.

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet, banking and more. Its proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes. WhiteFence is a 2007 finalist for the Platt's Global Energy Rising Star Award. The privately held company is based in Houston, Texas, and is backed by Adams Street Partners and Internet Capital Group.

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Leading online marketplace for home services recognized for its achievement and vision in the energy industry

HOUSTON, TX, October 26, 2007 - On Sept. 28, Platts announced WhiteFence, the leading online comparison shopping marketplace for residential consumers looking to compare and order essential home services, as a finalist for the Platts Global Energy Awards Rising Star Award.

The Global Energy Awards were established in 1999 as a way of recognizing outstanding achievement and vision in the energy industry. Each year, the mission of these awards is to single out the energy industry's star performers, recognizing compelling corporate achievements, outstanding individual efforts, innovation, integrity and entrepreneurial talent.

The Rising Star Award recognizes companies that not only possess the vision to step beyond their boundaries, but also succeed in that new space with flawless execution, brilliant marketing and a tremendous organizational ability to learn fast. To become a finalist for the Rising Star Award, WhiteFence was judged based on their:

• Strategic vision
• Financial results (with an emphasis on growth)
• Operational excellence
• Peer recognition
• Scope of work

Recent accomplishments over a short period of time make WhiteFence an ideal candidate for consideration. In 2007, WhiteFence made a commitment to expanding the availability of their Move Center Web application in the electric and natural gas industries, expanding the functionality of the Move Center to include offline as well as online capabilities, and to leverage its marketing and technical expertise to become the leading third party source for consumers to identify and compare renewable energy sources as well as essential home services.

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet, banking and more. WhiteFence's proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes. WhiteFence is based in Houston, TX. The privately held company is backed by Adams Street Partners and Internet Capital Group.

Past Rising Star Award winners have included Hercules Offshore Inc., a specialist in shallow-water drilling rigs and "liftboat" services to oil and gas explorers, and Excelerate Energy LP, a private company that was formed in 2003 to pursue new LNG importation alternatives (safe transportation methods), in the United States and around the world. Winners of the 2007 Global Energy Awards will be announced at a gala celebration on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

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Online Move Centers to Help Reduce Costs, Improve Customer Experience

HOUSTON, TX, October 3, 2007 - WhiteFence, the nation's leading online comparison-shopping marketplace for residential home services, announced today it has partnered with three of the largest electricity and natural gas providers in the Midwest. WhiteFence will develop and power online move centers for each provider assisting each to cut costs, boost revenues and improve user experience online.

WhiteFence-powered online move centers help partner companies reduce customer service and call center costs by migrating calls to Web applications which provide consumers easy, 24-hour access to their utilities and account information. Beginning this month, WhiteFence will develop and power move centers for:

• Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL) provides retail electric service to approximately 470,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Indianapolis, Indiana and other central Indiana communities.
• Citizens Gas provides natural gas services to more than 266,000 customers in the Indianapolis area.
• DTE Energy Co. (DTE) is one of the nation’s largest diversified energy companies, serving over 3.5 million customers through operating subsidiaries, including Detroit Edison and Michigan Consolidated Gas Co.

“WhiteFence-powered move centers have decreased call volume and costs by nearly 25 percent for some of our long standing energy partners, and we’re excited to deliver similar results for IPL, Citizens Gas and DTE,” said Eric Danziger, CEO of WhiteFence. “Through these three new partnerships, WhiteFence is well positioned to introduce our advanced move center capabilities to more than four million customers throughout Indiana and Michigan.”

“Our new move center is another excellent addition to IPL’s website that will help us achieve our goal of providing continuous improvements through enhanced customer service options to better meet the changing needs and expectations of our customers,” said Sue Weaver, IPL vice president of customer Service. “With the help of WhiteFence, we look forward to providing even more comprehensive and user-friendly Internet experiences for our customers.”

Each move center also assists providers to effectively promote additional services to customers, such as budget billing, e-billing, and line guard. Other electricity and natural gas move centers powered by WhiteFence include NSTAR, Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), Green Mountain Energy, TXU, Southern California Edison (SoCal Ed), Georgia Natural Gas, and Nevada Power.

“We are committed to continuing the growth of online move centers that provide energy companies significant cost savings by optimizing online assets and increasing customer satisfaction, with 24-hour service,” said Larry Byrne, vice president, business development and head of the electricity and natural gas team at WhiteFence. “Enrollment for these products and services has increased by multiples of ten, in some cases, generating substantial ancillary income for energy providers.”

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet, banking and more. WhiteFence's proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes. WhiteFence is based in Houston, TX. The privately held company is backed by Adams Street Partners and Internet Capital Group.

About IPL

IPL is The Power Behind Indianapolis, providing retail electric service to approximately 470,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Indianapolis, Indiana and other central Indiana communities. Since Indianapolis Power & Light Company’s creation in 1926, IPL’s people have been committed to being the best in the industry. IPL continues to safely deliver low-cost electricity and great service, with current residential and commercial rates that are well below industry averages and customer service ratings that are among the best. IPL is a part of The AES Corporation, one of the world's largest global power companies. With operations in 28 countries on five continents, AES's generation and distribution facilities have the capacity to serve 100 million people worldwide.

About Citizen Gas

Citizens Gas & Coke Utility is a Public Charitable Trust providing efficient and reliable energy services to more than 266,000 customers in and around Marion County. The Public Charitable Trust means the utility is managed only for the benefit of customers and the community.

About DTE

Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, DTE Energy is involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its largest operating units are Detroit Edison, an electric utility serving 2.2 million customers in Southeastern Michigan, and MichCon, a natural gas utility serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan. The DTE Energy portfolio also includes non-utility energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects, coal and gas midstream, unconventional gas production and energy trading.

 

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HOUSTON, TX, August 23, 2007 - WhiteFence, the nation's leading online comparison-shopping marketplace for home services, today announced its integrated online and call center solution for service providers in the electricity, natural gas and communications industries. The WhiteFence one-stop shopping platform enables consumers to connect all of their services in one convenient location.

Founded in March of 2000, WhiteFence has sourced and processed more than 4.5 million orders for top providers nationally. In the past year, offline call center capabilities were incorporated with existing online solutions for AT&T, Verizon and Nicor Gas, among others. The AT&T Mover's One Source, powered by WhiteFence, incorporates both online and call center solutions, saving consumers time and money by helping them secure reliable, cost-effective services.

"Integrating call center services with our online system is a natural extension of our capabilities, which will enable us to attract and serve more customers," said Eric Danziger, WhiteFence's chief executive officer. "Millions of consumers already turn to WhiteFence to compare, purchase and switch their services, helping to ensure they receive the best deals and prices available. We will continue to address their needs by expanding our product lines, customer services and relationships with top providers nationally."

By combining online and offline solutions, WhiteFence expands the capabilities of electricity and natural gas providers to promote and sell ancillary products such as line guard, renewable energy credits, balanced billing, and appliance warranty.

"Adding integrated call center solutions not only enables providers to better accommodate their existing customers with one-stop home services, but it gives our providers a new avenue to capture additional customers seeking such solutions offline," said Franc Arbide, executive vice president of sales & business development at WhiteFence. "In recent months WhiteFence has increased the number of fulltime phone representatives to over 100, and now has the capability to quickly expand that number as needed."

For more information about WhiteFence services, providers can visit b2b.WhiteFence.com.

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet, banking and more. WhiteFence's proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes. WhiteFence is based in Houston, TX. The privately held company is backed by Adams Street Partners and Internet Capital Group (NASDAQ: ICGE).

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HOUSTON (July 19, 2007) - WhiteFence, the nation's leading online comparison-shopping marketplace for residential home services, today announced a strategic alliance with NSTAR, the utility company that delivers electricity and natural gas to 1.4 million customers in Massachusetts. Under the agreement, WhiteFence plans to develop and power an online move center that will enable NSTAR customers to set up other services like phone and cable when they establish their electric and gas accounts.

Online move centers developed by WhiteFence allow NSTAR and other energy companies to increase customer satisfaction by providing consumers with easy, 24-hour access to a website where they can connect all their utilities at once. Helping customers to help themselves also improves site usability. The new NSTAR Online Move Center can be viewed at: www.WhiteFence.com/utilities/nstar

"We are excited to provide our move center capabilities to an electric and gas delivery company as well-respected as NSTAR," said Eric Danziger, CEO of WhiteFence. "The WhiteFence-powered move center provides a great way for utility companies to enhance customer convenience."

"Our new WhiteFence-powered move center will offer customers who are moving one-stop convenience when it comes to getting set up in their new home," said Penni McLean-Conner, NSTAR's Vice President of Customer Care. "Delivering great customer service is crucial to us and our new partnership with WhiteFence is a key component in that."

Other move centers powered by WhiteFence include:

• AT&T
• ComEd
• Green Mountain Energy
• TXU
• SoCal Ed
• Nevada Power

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet, banking and more. WhiteFence's proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes. WhiteFence is based in Houston, TX. The privately held company is backed by Adams Street Partners and Internet Capital Group.

About NSTAR

NSTAR is the largest Massachusetts-based, investor-owned electric and gas utility. The company transmits and delivers electricity and natural gas to 1.4 million customers in Eastern and Central Massachusetts, including 1.1 million electric customers in 81 communities and 300,000 gas customers in 51 communities.

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Safe Harbor Statement under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties including but not limited to risks associated with the uncertainty of future performance of our partner companies, acquisitions or dispositions of interests in partner companies, the effect of economic conditions generally, capital spending by customers and development of the e-commerce and information technology markets, and uncertainties detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.

New Site Gives Consumers a Broad Range of Environmentally-Conscious Energy Choices

HOUSTON, (June 13, 2007) — WhiteFence, the leading online comparison marketplace for consumers looking to evaluate and order essential home services, today announced the launch of GreenEnergyChoice.com. As environmentally-conscious energy production scales up and produces more energy, "clean" power is becoming available at competitive rates. The new GreenEnergyChoice.com enables energy consumers to easily compare offerings and prices from suppliers that use wind, solar, biomass and geothermal technologies to produce energy. Due to Texas' deregulated electricity market, GreenEnergyChoice.com is able to offer Texans numerous green energy choices. The site is also expanding its green energy offers to consumers in additional states, including New Jersey and Georgia.

GreenEnergyChoice.com features energy choices from a broad range of environmentally-savvy firms, including:

• Green Mountain Energy Company: Green Mountain Energy Company provides 100% pollution-free products that help consumers significantly reduce their households' share of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Green Mountain's Pollution Free^SM electricity is produced using clean, renewable resources, such as wind and water, and is competitively priced. To date, Green Mountain's customers have already helped to prevent as much CO₂ pollution as the equivalent of planting 227 million trees and have helped spur the development of 13 new wind and solar facilities across the nation.
• Commerce Energy: Commerce Energy provides two clean energy choices: Clear Choice 50% Wind and Clear Choice 100% Wind, which derive electricity from the wind that blows across Texas. Commerce Energy makes Clear Choice 12-month, fixed-rate service plans affordable for Texans. For nearly a decade, customers have relied on Commerce Energy to deliver competitive pricing, innovative product offerings and personalized customer service in addition to quality electric services.
• First Choice Power: First Choice Power's Simply Better Earth Saver Plan is 100% renewable electricity. Consumers are guaranteed the same low, fixed rate for 12 months. First Choice Power is the state's fourth largest retail electric provider, serving customers across Texas and is led by a team experienced in the Texas deregulated market.

"Consumers know that they can help to protect our environment through their purchasing decisions, and they are demanding environmentally-friendly choices for a wide range of products and services," said Eric Danziger, CEO of WhiteFence. "As interest in environmentally-conscious energy sources increases, WhiteFence wants to provide a single place for consumers to easily find and compare all their clean energy options. GreenEnergyChoice.com is that place."

GreenEnergyChoice.com affords residential customers the opportunity to live greener lives by not only offering a comprehensive marketplace where they can compare and purchase multiple pollution-free energy service options, but also by providing a Green Guide, where consumers can learn how to be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly in their everyday lives.

Future expansion of the Web site includes additional green energy companies that enter the renewable energy arena and deliver their products to residential consumers.

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet, banking and more. WhiteFence's proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes. WhiteFence is based in Houston, TX. The privately held company is backed by Adams Street Partners and Internet Capital Group.

HOUSTON (June 7, 2007) - Executives at WhiteFence (www.WhiteFence.com), the nation's leading online comparison-shopping marketplace for residential home services, announced today that the company has acquired competitor ConnectUtilities (www.ConnectUtilities.com). Beginning immediately, WhiteFence will integrate ConnectUtilities into its growing family of Web sites.

Both WhiteFence and ConnectUtilities offer the 110 million U.S. households the opportunity to compare pricing and order service plans for a variety of residential home services, including home telephone, high-speed Internet, natural gas and cable television, among others.

"While our strategy has been to grow WhiteFence organically, we're excited to take this next step and acquire ConnectUtilities," stated WhiteFence chief executive officer Eric Danziger. "Through this acquisition, we are able to grow our channel partner relationships, technology infrastructure and customer base as we further expand our national footprint."

ConnectUtilities, also founded in 2000, provides full-service utility connections online, while at the same time offering up-to-date promotions and cost saving opportunities.

WhiteFence recently completed its second round of funding, having raised $14 million led by new investor Adams Street Partners, in addition to Internet Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICGE), who led the company's first round of funding in 2005.

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet and more. WhiteFence's proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households, including movers, to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes.

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Safe Harbor Statement under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties including but not limited to risks associated with the uncertainty of future performance of our partner companies, acquisitions or dispositions of interests in partner companies, the effect of economic conditions generally, capital spending by customers and development of the e-commerce and information technology markets, and uncertainties detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.

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Leading Online Home Services Marketplace Adds Improved Head-to-Head Price Comparison, Click-to-Chat Customer Service and Checkout Enhancements

HOUSTON, TX (May 9, 2007) — WhiteFence today announced the relaunch of WhiteFence.com, the popular online comparison shopping marketplace for residential utilities and home services.

WhiteFence provides the largest online one-stop comparison marketplace for consumers looking to compare and order essential home services, including electricity, natural gas, home phone, high-speed Internet, cable and satellite television and more. The new version of WhiteFence allows the 110 million households across the United States to easily compare and buy services from hundreds of providers.

The new WhiteFence.com site includes three key enhancements:

1) Head-to-Head Comparison Engine
Consumers can now easily compare service offerings from multiple providers. By simply entering their home address, any household in the United States can see pricing, package features, special offers and other detailed information for utilities and home services - within seconds. The new comparison engine is based on feedback from customers, service providers and channel partners and was launched after months of careful design and engineering to deliver the optimal WhiteFence customer experience.

2) Click-to-Chat Customer Service
WhiteFence customers who have questions during the purchasing process now have a way to get instant answers. Click-to-Chat technology allows customers to type their question and get an immediate response. WhiteFence representatives are available to answer questions about services, pricing, installation dates and more. This is especially helpful for consumers who are ordering complex services such as high-speed Internet, cable or satellite TV.

3) Checkout Enhancements on Order Page
A cleaner, more streamlined order checkout was implemented using the latest Web technologies. The result is a faster and more intuitive checkout process - including a "floating order summary box" that provides the customer with real-time service and pricing information throughout the checkout process.

"We're committed to providing our customers the tools they need to find great values and make informed choices when shopping for home services," said Eric Danziger, WhiteFence's CEO. "The changes we've introduced through the WhiteFence.com relaunch were developed to both improve the customer experience as well as boost conversion rates for our providers and channel partners."

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet, banking and more. WhiteFence's proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes. WhiteFence is based in Houston, TX. The privately held company is backed by Adams Street Partners and Internet Capital Group.

WhiteFence is headquartered in Houston, Texas. For more information, please visit www.WhiteFence.com.

 

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Safe Harbor Statement under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties including but not limited to risks associated with the uncertainty of future performance of our partner companies, acquisitions or dispositions of interests in partner companies, the effect of economic conditions generally, capital spending by customers and development of the e-commerce and information technology markets, and uncertainties detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.

HOUSTON (March 22, 2007) — WhiteFence, the nation's leading online comparison-shopping marketplace for residential home services, today announced that Jeff Wagoner has joined the company as its chief operations officer. Mr. Wagoner will oversee client relations and operations as well as manage WhiteFence's customer service and channel partner teams.

Prior to joining WhiteFence, Mr. Wagoner served as senior vice president of sales for the national real estate brokerage ZipRealty. Wagoner also brings over 25 years of hotel experience and operational knowledge to WhiteFence, having served as senior vice president of hotel operations and senior vice president of brand programs of Wyndham International. Mr. Wagoner has also held a number of management roles with hotel groups such as Starwood Hotels and Marriott Hotels and Resorts.

"Having worked with Jeff extensively in the past, I have tremendous confidence that he will be a valued asset to WhiteFence and our senior leadership team," said Eric Danziger, chief executive officer of WhiteFence. "Jeff has proven himself to be a strong leader throughout his career, leaving an impressive footprint in the hotel and real estate industries. We look forward to benefiting from his vast experience in operational management."

As senior vice president of sales at ZipRealty, Mr. Wagoner oversaw a 300 percent increase in real estate agent growth nationally, operational and sales policy development as well as staffing and training—all of which contributed to a 100 percent metro coverage growth for the company.

"I am honored to partner with Eric once again, and join the talented WhiteFence executive team," said Mr. Wagoner. "WhiteFence provides a convenient and very meaningful service that has tremendous value to consumers, and has built a unique consumer gateway which has enormous potential for further growth and expansion."

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet, banking and more. WhiteFence's proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households, including movers, to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes.

HOUSTON (March 14, 2007) — Executives at WhiteFence, the nation's leading online comparison shopping marketplace for residential home services, announced today that it has raised $14 million in second round funding led by new investor Adams Street Partners, in addition to Internet Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICGE). The Company received its first round of funding, led by Internet Capital Group, Inc., in November 2005.

WhiteFence (www.WhiteFence.com) is the leading online one-stop comparison marketplace for consumers looking to compare and order essential home services including electricity, natural gas, home phone, high-speed Internet, cable and satellite television and more. WhiteFence allows the 110 million households across the United States to easily compare and buy services from hundreds of providers.

"Having been attracted to WhiteFence and its business model for some time, we are honored to lead the Company's second round of funding and committed to helping WhiteFence achieve its goals," said Matt Crisp, Partner at Adams Street Partners. 

Added Internet Capital Group Chief Executive Officer Walter Buckley, "We're excited about the opportunity to further our financial commitment to WhiteFence and provide its leadership team with the resources needed to continue its impressive growth."

In 2006, WhiteFence processed more than 1.2 million transactions through www.WhiteFence.com as well as privately-labeled channel partner Web sites in the multifamily, real estate brokerage, relocation, energy and communications industries.

"This second round of funding further indicates the confidence our investors have in our business model and vision," said Eric Danziger, WhiteFence's CEO. "We will continue to focus on creating an outstanding customer experience while accelerating our expansion into new service categories."

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet, banking and more. WhiteFence's proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households, including movers, to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes.

About Adams Street Partners

Adams Street Partners is widely regarded as one of the most experienced and respected firms in the private equity industry. Together with its predecessor organizations (First Chicago, Brinson Partners) ASP's sole focus since 1972 is providing private equity investment advisory services through direct investments in portfolio companies and investments in partnerships—both primary and secondary—worldwide.

About Internet Capital Group

Internet Capital Group (www.internetcapital.com) acquires and builds Internet software companies that drive business productivity and reduce transaction costs between firms. Founded in 1996, ICG devotes its expertise and capital to maximizing the success of these platform companies that are delivering on-demand software and service applications to customers worldwide.

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Safe Harbor Statement under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties including but not limited to risks associated with the uncertainty of future performance of our partner companies, acquisitions or dispositions of interests in partner companies, the effect of economic conditions generally, capital spending by customers and development of the e-commerce and information technology markets, and uncertainties detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.

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