Abebooks.com announces significant expansion into the Spanish market

    Abebooks - the world's largest online marketplace for new, used, rare and
    out-of-print books - announces the acquisition of Iberlibro.com and a new
    partnership with renowned Spanish bookstore chain Casa del Libro

    VICTORIA, BC, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ - Abebooks.com today announced the
acquisition of Iberlibro.com, the most important online platform for used and
antiquarian books in the global Spanish-speaking community. This announcement
comes just one week after Casa del Libro, a renowned bookstore chain in Spain,
uploaded a quarter of a million new books onto the Abebooks marketplace.
    The Iberlibro acquisition will accelerate Abebooks' growth in the Spanish
book market, increasing the online retailer's inventory of 60 million books by
two million. Iberlibro's network consists of 296 booksellers from 15
countries.
    "Iberlibro has a very broad selection of unique Spanish-language books
from a large group of experienced and specialized booksellers," says Abebooks
CEO Hannes Blum. "This is an exciting opportunity for our customers who read
and collect used, rare and out-of-print Spanish books, and we are proud to
welcome these respected booksellers to our global seller community." Blum also
explains that Iberlibro will operate as a partner website with Abebooks, and
that no major changes are expected in the near future. "There is clearly a
huge potential for growth in the Spanish market, and Abebooks is serious about
tapping into that potential on behalf of our customers on both the buyer and
seller side of our business."
    "Our companies complement each other very well. Iberlibro has an intimate
knowledge of the Spanish used and antiquarian book market, and Abebooks has a
unique position in the worldwide market. Iberlibro's buyers and sellers will
also benefit from a much more developed technology base," says Adolfo Pisa,
Iberlibro Founder and Managing Director.
    Abebooks continues to grow its new books marketplace as well. This week
Casa del Libro uploaded its entire inventory of 250,000 titles. Casa del Libro
is a 90-year-old bookstore chain based in Spain that belongs to Grupo Planeta,
one of the largest publishing groups in the Hispanic world. "We believe there
is a great opportunity for us to sell internationally. We have a unique book
offer, and Abebooks is our preferred channel into the global marketplace,"
says Ignacio Somalo, Managing Director of Casa del Libro Online.
    'Abebooks en Espanol', located at http://www.abebooks.com/espanol, reported a
400% growth since its official launch in February this year, listing more than
750,000 Spanish books. With the new partnerships announced today, the Abebooks
marketplace will list nearly 3 million Spanish-language books to customers
worldwide. Blum says "We invite Hispanic communities around the world to
discover Abebooks, where they will find treasures among our unparalleled
inventory of new, used, rare and out-of-print books".

    About Abebooks
    Abebooks is a global company with sites dedicated to book buyers in North
America, France, Germany, and the UK. These domestic sites serve specific
countries while making unique book inventories available to all. Through
strategic partnerships Abebooks has become the most important virtual supplier
of books while expanding selling avenues for booksellers.

    Media contact:  Janice Wormald
                    jwormald@abebooks.com
                    Phone: 250-412-3216