Miscellaneous NPLI matters:
news.cnet.com
Netpliance tries new tack to save business
By Ian Fried
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
August 10, 2001, 12:40 p.m. PT
update Netpliance, the one-time maker of Internet appliances, said Friday that it plans
to undergo a 1-for-15 reverse stock split and to change its name to TippingPoint
Technologies.
The Austin, Texas-based company, best known for making the I-opener Web-browsing device,
also announced a number of personnel moves and financial results that included a loss from
current operations of $3.7 million, or 6 cents per share. The net loss from the discontinued
Internet appliance and service business totaled about $2.1 million, or 3 cents per share
In November, Netpliance said it was getting out of the Internet appliance business, instead
focusing on helping other companies manage networks of Net appliances and other devices.
The company has said it does not expect the revamped business to generate revenue until at
least the first quarter of next year.
On the personnel front, Chief Financial Officer Kit Webster will add the titles of president and
chief operating officer.
"Things are going well," Webster said. "We are where we thought we were going to be. But
where we thought we were going to be doesn't include customers at this point."
Kent Savage, Netpliance's former president, will rejoin the company as chief sales and
marketing officer. Netpliance announced in February that Savage was leaving the company,
effective the following month.
The company also said that Savage, who had remained on the board of directors, and Webster
will step down from the board to reduce the number of company management positions on it.
Kip McClanahan, CEO of Austin-based BroadJump, will join Netpliance's board. According to
Netpliance, BroadJump creates software that allows broadband service providers to simplify the
installation and management of their services.
The company said it has $53 million in cash and investments, which it believes can fund the
company for at least the next 12 months even with no revenue or additional funding.
In December, an investor group led by Netpliance CEO John McHale made a bid to take the
company private, offering 65 cents a share. The offer, which was above where the stock was
trading but a fraction of its 52-week high, drew outrage and lawsuits from investors. The offer
was withdrawn in January
Netpliance said the reverse stock split should allow it to meet the requirements for continued
listing on the Nasdaq. The company has been trading below $1 since late last year. The split
has received shareholder and board approval, Netpliance said. The company will change its
ticker symbol, effective Aug. 20, from "NPLI" to "TPTI." |
