It's not over 'til it's over - but the White Knight's website is "under construction":
Monday March 20, 8:31 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Merit Studios Inc. Announces Offer to Iridium for New Business Proposal
and Restructuring
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2000--Merit Studios Inc. (OTCBB:MRITP - news) has transmitted an e-mail to the Attorneys involved in the Iridium
Bankruptcy case.
On Sunday March 19, 2000, Chairman and CEO of Merit Studios, Michael John, transmitted an e-mail to the Attorneys involved in the Iridium Bankruptcy case. Merit
on its behalf and Michael John representing a group of private investors offered a new business venture to save Iridium.
Based on Merit's WormHole Technology, the company believes to have found an innovative way to use the satellite system of Iridium to create an additional data
transmission network to supplement the Internet and data transmission in general.
The e-mail sent to the Attorneys involved, contains the following information and proposals: Case No. 99-45005 filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of
New York:
Michael John of Merit Studios Inc., a small software and e-commerce company trading on the OTCBB exchange, was listening on Friday March 17, 2000 to a report on
CNBC about Iridium and the plan to destroy the 66 satellites in orbit.
Merit has a plan to salvage the failed venture, recover all losses, and make Iridium or a newly formed company, which will take control of Iridium profitably.
Merit assumes that if all the assets are sold and the satellites are destroyed that most of the creditors and most of the stockholders will lose a lot of money or get nothing
at all. Billions of dollars will be wasted.
On the following pages Merit will present a plan to the parties involved that could make use of the satellites, generate new business, and produce sufficient profits to
ensure that all creditors are satisfied in full.
Merit Studios has invented software that can compress data by 10 to 1. Merit is very close to being able to compress data by a ratio of 40 to 1, and in theory, it may be
possible to get compressions of over 1000 to 1. Merit is in the process of filing patents on this software. (Merit's CEO Michael John has invented unrelated patents No.
5,809,905, No. 5,887,529, No. 5,860,369, and No. 5,607,409 and has several patents pending.) Merit calls this particular compression software WormHole Technology.
To be precise, the word compression is not totally accurate. What John and William Petro are inventing consists of two programs that are restructuring huge data files
into a very small data set that can then be delivered over the Internet and or other communication networks.
This software will also be used for data storage and file backup. Video data and some computer programs are extremely huge and difficult to send efficiently. With this
software it is possible to deliver huge data files in very small packages, and to reduce compressed or zipped files further. As the transmission of large amounts of data
becomes routine, computer users worldwide are demanding faster services, and Merit is positioned to address this problem.
Merit is developing a simple USB port receiver, which can be connected to a computer. One of these receivers will be sold with each unit of the software. Merit
estimates that the software can be sold with a device like this for $49.95 and still earn a healthy profit. Merit estimates that a large percentage of the more than 400
million computer users worldwide will be potential customers.
This is where the Iridium satellites come into play. Therefore, visualize the following scenario: The satellites are used for the distribution of data and collect a fee from
the sender for the service. As an example, take AOL or other similar companies, which have browser or software updates. Instead of AOL users looking onto AOL for
an upgrade, (a frustrating prospect; downloads often require six hours or more on a 56K modem) it would be possible to downlink the data from the satellites. This could
occur worldwide, all at the same time, and independent of whether or not the PC user is even online.
By using the Internet and the satellites as a circle it would be possible to distribute advertising, news, warnings and so much more instantly world wide. By putting a
backup in RAM and a battery, which is charged over the USB port, into the receiver it would store the data received by the satellite transmission even with the
computer switch off. In today's market a PC user with a 56K modem cannot buy or rent a 2-hour movie or 150-MB software over the Internet. But with the receiver in
place users would be able to order movies or software over the Internet. Sellers and distributors would send an ID acceptance code automatically to the Iridium control
center and the satellite in the users area would send the signal in such a fashion that only the user with the correct ID acceptance code would be able to receive it.
In this regard, the WormHole Technology has another advantage. Packing and unpacking software can be equipped with a code generator, which is constructed to make
sure that the data sent cannot be opened. WormHole is the first such software which can claim that it is unbreakable. If someone wanted to break the code they would
need to physically break into the head office of the specified user to steal the chip, which contained the codes. In that case, if the chip was stolen, it would be
immediately noticed, allowing the user to install another chip, which had different codes.
The possibilities for this satellite data transmission idea are endless. On the financial side, a complete restructuring of Iridium would be possible.
Merit and Iridium could form a new company named Meridium for example. From this company all creditors, Merit Studios and all old Iridium stockholders would get
new stock and the old Iridium stock would be canceled. Creditors would receive 30 percent of the new stock plus 20 percent of the net profits for as long it took to pay
off the debt. All old Iridium stockholders would get 30 percent of the new stock in exchange for the old Iridium stock.
Over the last 2 years the stock has dropped from $64 to $0.6. If it is legally possible, and in an effort to avoid speculations, it would be advisable that the record date of
the exchange could be backdated to a date, which had a stock value of $30.
Thirty percent of the stock would be for Merit Studios Inc. for the software licensing for wireless data transfer that will be exclusively held by Meridium. A group of
private investors contacted by Merit's CEO would hold 10 percent of the new company, for a financial contribution of $100 million to Meridium.
Merit believes that this offer is better for all concerned, and is certainly a more appropriate solution than destroying 66 satellites.
The complete restructuring could be completed within six months. This proposal would be very lucrative for the creditors, who would not only receive complete payment,
but would also receive a 30 percent stake in the new company as a bonus for cooperating. Merit believes that all the stockholders of Iridium will accept this proposal
also.
Several years ago, John did the same with Merit Studios on a smaller scale. All shareholders of Merit had lost every thing. John on behalf of Merit settled 90 percent of
Merit's creditors with two shares of common stock for each dollar owed. When John took over control of Merit the stock price was $0.005. Today the stock trades
between $3 and $4. Today Merit has a lot of happy creditors and shareholders, and Merit's CEO John is confident that the same can be achieved for Iridium.
For Merit Studios Inc.'s home page enter meritstudios.com. To go to GlobeAd enter globead.com. To go to BrowseBreak enter
browsebreak.com. To go to TvWebb enter tvwebb.com. To go to WormHole Technology enter wormholesoftware.com (not active
yet).
This release contains statements that constitute ``forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act and Section 27A of the
Securities Act. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve risks and uncertainties. Certain factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements,
including but not limited to: the number and timing of sales Merit Studios Inc. advertising spots and software, the development and/or acceptance of new products, the
impact of competition on the company's products and/or pricing, and the success of the company's software.
Contact:
Merit Studios Inc.
Michael John, 702/804-2616
mritpnet@lvcm.com |
