Verticalnet's Shareholders Approve Merger Transaction

MALVERN, Pa.--(Business Wire)--Verticalnet, Inc. (Nasdaq:VERT), a leading US provider of
on-demand supply management solutions for Global 2000 enterprises and
mid-market companies ("Verticalnet"), announced that its shareholders
adopted the merger agreement with BravoSolution S.p.A., and approved
the merger of a wholly-owned subsidiary of BravoSolution S.p.A. into
Verticalnet, at a special meeting of shareholders held today. The
transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is
expected to close on January 25, 2008.

"We are very pleased with the outcome of today's vote," said
Nathanael V. Lentz, President and CEO of Verticalnet. "On behalf of
the Verticalnet Board and management team, I want to thank our
shareholders, customers and dedicated employees for their support. We
look forward to promptly completing the transaction."

About Verticalnet, Inc.

Verticalnet is a leading provider of on-demand supply management
solutions that enable companies to identify and realize sustained
value across the supply management lifecycle. Going beyond traditional
spend management and sourcing approaches, Verticalnet's solutions
provide the visibility, insight and process control required to
maximize the sustained value realization from supply management. Large
enough to help customers attain supply management success worldwide,
yet nimble enough to provide individual attention and remain focused
on customer priorities, Verticalnet is helping Global 2000 companies
and mid-market enterprises move their supply management efforts to the
next level through an optimal blend of software, comprehensive
services, and deep category knowledge and domain expertise.

About BravoSolution

BravoSolution S.p.A. is a leading international provider of
eSourcing solutions. Its mission is to generate value by supporting
its clients in the improvement of procurement processes through
innovative web-based technologies and services. Founded in Italy in
June 2000 by the Italcementi Group, BravoSolution effectively combines
professional expertise and technological excellence in the area of
sourcing in order to deliver valuable results to its numerous
customers worldwide. BravoSolution has offices in London, Madrid,
Milan, Paris, Rome and Shanghai. In the United Kingdom, BravoSolution
is the sole approved provider of eSourcing Services under the
Framework Agreement managed by an Executive Agency of the UK Treasury
(OGC). BravoSolution has a team of more than 250 professionals and has
now managed over 70,000 online negotiations, totaling over $50 billion
of spend.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This release contains one or more forward-looking statements,
which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Discussion of
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from management's current projections, forecasts, estimates
and expectations is contained in Verticalnet's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Specifically, Verticalnet
makes reference to the section entitled "Risk Factors" in its annual
and quarterly reports. In addition to the risks and uncertainties set
forth in Verticalnet's SEC reports or periodic reports, the proposed
transaction described in this release could be affected by, among
other things, the occurrence of any event, change or other
circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger
agreement; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted
against Verticalnet and others related to the merger agreement or any
other failure to satisfy other conditions required to complete the
merger; risks that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and
operations and the potential difficulties in employee retention as a
result of the merger; and the amount of the costs, fees, expenses and
charges related to the merger. In addition, other risks and
uncertainties not presently known to us or that we consider immaterial
could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements.
Verticalnet does not undertake any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or
circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

Verticalnet is a registered trademark or a trademark in the United
States and other countries of Vert Tech LLC

Verticalnet, Inc.
Liz Flynn, 708-386-2082
eflynn@verticalnet.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008