The acquisition which is part of ING DIRECT's latest step toward meeting the financial needs of Main Street, USA, will add cost-effective, simple investment options to ING DIRECT's consumer product offerings, which currently include online savings and checking accounts, CDs, Mutual Funds and mortgages.

Through this transaction, ING DIRECT, through its broker-dealer subsidiary ING DIRECT Securities, Inc., has acquired 100% of ShareBuilder Corporation's outstanding equity-related interests, including its subsidiary ShareBuilder Securities Corporation.

"ING DIRECT has empowered savers with great value, ease of transactions and unmatched customer service," commented Arkadi Kuhlmann, President and CEO of ING DIRECT. "Now, with the addition of ShareBuilder we can provide customers a low-cost, easy to understand way to invest on a regular basis. Both Companies share a mission to enable Main Street America to build and manage their wealth in a straightforward manner."

"These are two companies who are committed to their customers and the financial health and well-being of those customers. Both ING DIRECT and ShareBuilder provide financial products and services that are simple, easy-to-understand, and accessible for mainstream America," said Dan Greenshields, President and CEO of ShareBuilder Corporation. "We are confident that our combined company's broader range of products and services will motivate Americans to save."

ShareBuilder, like ING DIRECT, is a low-cost, direct business model. Both target early stage investors - ING DIRECT through the Orange Savings Account, Electric Orange, CDs and Mutual Funds; and ShareBuilder through a limited set of simple and high-value investment products including Stocks, Exchange Traded Funds, Options and Automatic Investment Plans. Most significantly, both promote regular investment and long-term savings.