Augments Next Generation Offering, Responds to Customer Demand
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2005--Verso Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSO - News), an integrated communications solutions company, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the I-Master intellectual property and other business assets of Jacksonville Technology Associates, Inc. (JTA), formerly a part of ECI Telecom Limited, for the payment of $50,000 in cash and the issuance of 950,000 shares of Verso stock. In addition, Verso agreed to issue additional shares of Verso stock based on performance. In connection with this acquisition, Verso will also assume certain liabilities of JTA totaling approximately $625,000 which will be paid on or prior to closing.
The acquisition of the JTA assets will give Verso an Internet protocol (IP)-based pre-paid applications platform on which multiple voice and next generation services can be deployed to the carrier market. This platform is based on open standards, meaning that it can integrate with existing next generation equipment from many providers, including Verso, and can facilitate higher scalability than Verso's existing pre-paid solution. Verso expects that the closing of this acquisition, which is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, will occur by March 31, 2005.
More specifically, the technology gives Verso a real-time authentication application, which can facilitate IP-based billing modules such as pre-paid, post-paid and wholesale transactions between carriers. In addition, the benefit of this next generation technology is that it enables carriers to achieve full revenue assurance by providing real-time authentication and billing for bundled or stand-alone revenue enhancing voice and data services, including:
Messaging;
Calling;
Conferencing;
Enhanced Interactive voice response (IVR) services such as
alarm and wake-up, speed dial and streaming audio;
Additional real-time authentication for Internet and virtual private network (VPN) access via ADSL and dial-up; and
Pre-paid broadband access.
The I-Master technology is based on open standards and is in compliance with industry protocols such as SIP, RADIUS, MGCP, H.323, among others. The I-Master platform is interoperable with IP infrastructure elements provided by most of the leading next generation network vendors, including Cisco, Veraz and Siemens. The technology has been deployed by Tier 1 and Tier 2 carriers in North America, Central America, South America, Europe and Asia.
"Although JTA and Verso have had a strategic partnership since last summer, we felt that an acquisition made sense because it enabled us to leapfrog from a legacy pre-paid platform to a highly scalable IP-based platform targeting larger, higher quality carriers and it enabled us to bypass the high costs associated with migrating NACT's technology to a next generation platform," explained Steve Odom, Verso's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition, we believe it will be accretive for our shareholders and that there are immediate revenue opportunities from an integrated Verso and JTA. Once we completed the divestiture of our two non-core businesses, MCK and NACT, and we raised additional capital, we felt that we were ready to complete the acquisition of JTA."
"The addition of the I-Master platform to our product set will expand our next generation capabilities by interoperating with Verso and non-Verso products," commented Lewis Jaffe, Verso's President and Chief Operating Officer. "This will allow us to attack the broadest potential carrier market and expand our channel partnerships with a solution that the market has been demanding. The acquisition gives Verso a next generation platform to offer revenue-generating solutions such as pre-paid, post-paid and IVR capabilities to Tier 1 through Tier 4 carriers. The value proposition of this platform is its ability to enable carriers to offer their customers applications that will result in long-term relationships. We expect to see close to $1 million in revenue from JTA by the end of the second quarter as a result of this acquisition."
About Verso Technologies
Verso is a leading provider of next generation communication solutions for service providers that want to lower their communication infrastructure costs and enhance service capabilities without sacrificing reliability, scalability and quality of service. With an extensive solutions portfolio that extends from the core to the edge of a network, Verso enables customers to leverage legacy technology investments towards converged networks that are faster and more cost-effective to deploy and easier and more flexible to manage. Verso solutions are currently deployed in thousands of customer networks in over 120 countries. For more information, contact Verso at www.verso.com or call 678.589.3500.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this release that are not statements of historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words - "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "will," and similar expressions are examples of words that identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding our future financial position, timing of future orders, business strategy and expected cost savings. These forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs, as well as assumptions we have made based upon information currently available to us. These forward-looking statements may be affected by the risks and uncertainties in our business and are qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements and risk factor disclosure contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003. We do not assume, and expressly disclaim, any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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Contact:
Verso Technologies, Inc., Atlanta
Investor Contact
Monish Bahl, 678-589-3579
Monish.Bahl@verso.com
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Source: Verso Technologies, Inc.