(COMTEX) B: itemus invests US$2.5-million in Maptuit Investment funds
B: itemus invests US$2.5-million in Maptuit Investment funds unique eLogistics
technology
TORONTO, Sep 28, 2000 (CNW via COMTEX) -- itemus inc. (TSE:ITM), (OTCBB:ITMUF)
announced today it has invested US$2.5-million in cash in Maptuit Corporation, a
leading provider of information-rich location based services. The investment
coincides with an investment of equal value in Maptuit Corporation by Descartes
Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX), (TSE:DSG), a leading provider of global
Internet logistics solutions.
"Maptuit's technology is powerful and unique; its business model and management
strong," said itemus President and CEO Jim Tobin. "itemus has examined its
technology and business in great depth over the past several months. We believe
Maptuit is clearly heading in the right direction - destined to forever change
the way both consumers and businesses find the best route to wherever they want
to go.
"itemus sees this as more than just an investment in the emerging area of next
generation networking," Mr. Tobin added. "It is a commitment to help Maptuit
succeed by working together, true to itemus' name and meaning. In fact, itemus
has also agreed to provide Maptuit with up to an additional one- million dollars
(U.S.) worth of acceleration services, further enhancing the value of our
investment."
Maptuit is an ASP (Application Service Provider) offering location-based and
eLogistics services. The investment announced today helps Maptuit accelerate the
deployment of those services in Europe, North America and Asia. As part of the
agreement, Maptuit will be able to access itemus' wide range of accelerator
services, resources and relationships within the industry.
"This is an investment in Maptuit's vision - one we welcome," said Maptuit
Chairman Don Tapscott. "It's an important step in delivering on the first-mover
advantage we have developed through our technology and gives us significant
flexibility for the future."
Maptuit is building its technology infrastructure to focus on two key areas -
location-based services and eLogistics. As the enabler of choice for wireline
and wireless Internet LBS, Maptuit offers owners of bricks-and-mortar retail,
service, entertainment and government with the means to drive customers to their
doors.
On the eLogistics side, Maptuit is the only company with Internet-based
real-time routing to multiple locations. Businesses that depend on logistics
services, such as delivery and service companies, can use Maptuit's industry-
leading multi-point route sequencing services to dynamically calculate optimal
delivery routes in real-time. Such services can be deployed over low-cost
wireless devices such as WAP-enabled mobile phones and two-way pagers.
About Maptuit
Maptuit is a leading supplier of wireline and wireless Internet location- based
and eLogistics services. Maptuit's core services - address lookup, route
finding, directions generation, map rendering and proximity searching - are
based on an extensive street network database of North America. Operating as an
ASP (Application Service Provider), Maptuit provides private-branded store
locators and portal technology, accessible over the web and through wireless
devices. Maptuit also targets the eLogistics marketplace, offering address
lookup, routing and visualization services to the AVL (Automated Vehicle
Location) and service and delivery scheduling markets. Maptuit's unique real-
time multi-point route-sequencing service enables the creation of next-
generation Logistics solutions. For more information, please visit the company's
Web site at www.maptuit.com.
About itemus
itemus inc. is an Internet Operating Company that seeks to create value for
shareholders by building and investing in companies with leading applications
and revolutionary business models for the Internet. The company operates through
wholly-owned itemus Solutions, providing services and applications in the areas
of security, network infrastructure, application management and rich media.
itemus inc. also focuses on identifying and investing in promising Internet
technology and content companies. itemus is positioned as a value-add investor,
offering ideaPARK R&D Environments and Acceleration Services to its investee
companies in order to accelerate their growth and development. For more
information, please visit the company's Web site at www.itemus.com.
All registered and unregistered trademarks mentioned in this release are
the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: For further information: on itemus: investors should contact
usan
Wilson, Investor Relations, toll free at 1-888-894-9911 or by
email at
investors(at)itemus.com; Media should contact Mark Blanchard,
Counsellor, Cohn
& Wolfe at (416) 924-5700 x. 4052, or by email at:
mark_blanchard(at)ca.cohnwolfe.com. For further information o
Maptuit, media
should contact Stephen Rouse, Maverick PR, by phone at (416)
40-5518 or by
email at: stephenr(at)maverickpr.com. For further information
on Descartes
Systems Group, media should contact Paul Laufert by phone at
519) 746-6114
ext. 2265 or by email at: plaufert(at)descartes.com
News release via Canada NewsWire, Toronto 416-863-9350 -ME-
Copyright (C) 2000 CNW, All rights reserved
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KEYWORD: TORONTO
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MLM
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