Thursday January 8, 8:02 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Quarterdeck Corporation
Quarterdeck Poised To Capture a Larger Share of the PC Utilities
Market
Successful Internal Restructuring Produces a New Line of Products, New Strategic
Alliances, a Strengthened Balance Sheet, And a Dynamic Management Team
MARINA DEL REY, Calif., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Quarterdeck Corporation (Nasdaq: QDEK - news) today announced the
Company's completed restructuring, sharpened focus, new product line, new management team, new strategic partnerships,
and strengthened balance sheet are the result of its aggressive campaign to capture a bigger share of the PC utilities market.
Quarterdeck's ''New Generation of Help'' -- the Company's portfolio of smart, targeted self- help and automatic help
software -- signifies its commitment to deliver easy- to-use helpware solutions to power users, Internet surfers and first time
PC users.
''Quarterdeck is converting a successful internal restructuring into a persuasive comeback in the marketplace,'' said Curt
Hessler, president and CEO of Quarterdeck Corporation. ''Our goal is to lead the industry in providing comprehensive
helpware solutions for the core performance problems of networked personal computing.''
A NEW GENERATION OF HELP
In 1997, Quarterdeck successfully evolved its core utilities and communications product lines into one rich, innovative
software line that is designed to prevent and repair PC problems and improve PC performance in standalone and corporate
environments without the aid of on-site technical support. The Company's new generation of help software builds upon the
''PC Utilities'' category Quarterdeck helped pioneer. The products address PC problem diagnosis and resolution, storage
management, security protection, remote configuration and updating, and enhanced access to network resources and
information.
Quarterdeck's recent product releases include CleanSweep Deluxe, the worldwide uninstaller category market leader;
REALHELP Extra Strength, a new problem solving software product for Windows 95 that prevents problems before they
start; ViruSweep, comprehensive anti-virus software; TuneUp/TuneUp.com, a subscription based, online service that provides
hardware and software updates; Partition-It Extra Strength, a comprehensive hard drive space optimizer and full featured boot
manager; and Zip-It 4.0/I-Zip which lets users view and extract zip files quickly and easily over the Internet/ intranet.
PRODUCT AWARDS
Quarterdeck's software technology continues to receive widespread market acceptance and, during 1997, received significant
recognition from domestic and international trade publications.
Domestic
''WINProbe,'' Quarterdeck's comprehensive 32-bit troubleshooter toolbox for Windows 95, won PC Magazine's ''Editor's
Choice'' award in the 1997 Utility Guide as well as their ''Best of 1997'' award in the January 1998 issue. ''CleanSweep''
was also a winner of PC Magazine's ''Best of 1997'' award and was featured on MSNBC-TV's ''Steals and Deals'' as the
software solution of choice for spring cleaning your PC. ''Procomm Plus,'' the leading PC communications software, won
Computer Currents' ''Reader's Choice'' award in March 1997 and ''RapidRemote,'' the easiest-to-use remote control solution
that gives users affordable, fast and easy access to the information on their PC, won LAN Times' ''The Best of LAN Times''
award in July 1997.
Several awards also went to Quarterdeck's ''WebCompass,'' a powerful Internet meta-search tool. Among others,
WebCompass won PC Magazine's ''50 Best Products of the Year'' award in January 1997, NetGuide's ''Editor's Choice''
award in May 1997, LAN Times' ''The Best of LAN Times'' award in May 1997, and Windows Magazine's ''WIN 100''
award in June 1997.
In addition, Quarterdeck Corporation was recognized as one of the ''100 Most Influential Companies'' by PC Magazine in
July 1997, and was given Curriculum Administrator's ''District's Choice'' award in June 1997.
International
Quarterdeck also enjoyed increased international success in 1997. In Japan, CleanSweep remains the best selling uninstaller
and has been ranked among the top ten ''PC Business Software'' in Nikkei Business, PCing, and ASCII DOS/V. Also,
Quarterdeck's MagnaRAM was ranked number seven on Nikkei Business' ''Top Ten'' list in July 1997. In Germany,
CleanSweep was deemed the number two software seller by PC Professional in December 1997 and was ranked the number
two ''Top Selling CD ROM Title'' by PC Praxis in the same month. In the UK, PC Advisor named CleanSweep the ''Best
Uninstaller Software of the Year'' in December 1997 and in France, CleanSweep was the winner of Generation PC's
''Excellent Value'' award in March 1997. In Latin America, CleanSweep and QEMM 97 were among the ''10 Top Selling
Windows 95 Software'' featured in Personal Computing's November 1997 issue in Mexico. Also, in Australia, CleanSweep
was ranked number five of all software products by TechPac Australia.
Noting these achievements, Quarterdeck looks forward to more product recognition in 1998. CleanSweep Deluxe and TuneUp
have already been selected as finalists for the Excellence in Software/ ''Codie'' award for ''Best Consumer Software
Upgrade'' and ''Best Internet/Online Service'' given by the Software Publishers Association (SPA) in the Spring of 1998. In
addition, Partition-It Extra Strength won the ''Best Products of 1997'' award from Australia's PC User Magazine in January
of this year.
NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM
In 1997, Quarterdeck recruited new leadership across nearly all functions. The new management team will continue to address
one of the computer industry's biggest problems -- the high support costs of personal computing. Marc Epstein, formerly of
Novell, is the chief technology officer and senior vice president of technology and business development; Joseph Fusco,
formerly of Symantec Corporation [Nasdaq:SYMC - news], is the senior vice president of marketing and product
management; Frank Greico, formerly of Knowledge Adventure, is the senior vice president and chief financial officer; Ron
Ben-Yehuda, formerly associate general counsel and head of intellectual property, is the vice president, secretary and general
counsel; James M. Carrigan, formerly of Thuridion Services Division, is the vice president of research and development; Janet
Daly, formerly of Cybermedia, Inc., is the vice president of marketing; Suzanne Dickson, formerly of Symantec Corporation,
is the vice president of product management; Tom Mackey, formerly of American Business Information, is the vice president
of US and Canadian sales; John Strosahl, formerly senior director of Asian/Pacific/Latin American operations, is the vice
president of international; and Rita Davis is the director of human resources.
NEW STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
In a continued effort to expand its product line and penetrate new markets, Quarterdeck entered into several new strategic
partnerships in 1997. In September, the Company acquired worldwide licensing rights to the highly rated anti-virus engine
technology from eSafe Technologies, a US division of the Israel-based Eliashim Ltd. Quarterdeck has integrated its anti-virus
technology, ViruSweep, into TuneUp, CleanSweep Deluxe, and REALHELP. The Company has also committed to providing
solutions online via TuneUp.com through partners such as GTE and MSN.
To reflect its growing commitment to the Japanese market, Quarterdeck entered into an agreement with Marubeni Corporation
in October. One of the largest trading companies in Japan, Marubeni will serve as exclusive distributor of Quarterdeck's
products in the Japanese market. Quarterdeck and Marubeni have entered into a Letter of Intent to jointly form a new company
in Japan to market and promote Quarterdeck's software products there.
NEWLY STRENGTHENED BALANCE SHEET
To strengthen its financial foundation, Quarterdeck cut costs, shed redundant assets and non-core products, and refinanced the
business in 1997.
Financial Summary ($000)
September 30, 1997 September 30, 1996
Cash & cash equivalents $23,651 $25,554
Working Capital 8,822 4,684
Total current liabilities 27,689 47,248
Total stockholders equity 3,078 4,425
The Company also reached an agreement in principle to settle the outstanding federal and state shareholder actions brought
against Quarterdeck Corporation (and one former and one current officer of the Company) for a total amount of $12.5 million,
of which the Company will pay approximately $1.9 million, with the balance to be paid by the Company's directors and
officers insurance policies.
PRODUCT AVAILABILITY
All products are currently available at major computer retail outlets nationwide and/or direct from Quarterdeck's newly
remodeled online store at www.quarterdeck.com/store.
ABOUT QUARTERDECK
Quarterdeck Corporation develops and markets software to help PCs work well without on-site technical support. The
products provide problem diagnosis and resolution, storage management, security protection, remote configuration and
updating, and enhanced access to PC network resources and information. The Company markets its products worldwide via
retail distribution, corporate resellers and OEMs, direct marketing channels, and the Internet. Incorporated in 1982 and traded
on Nasdaq under the symbol QDEK, Quarterdeck's worldwide headquarters are in Marina del Rey, California. Further
information may be obtained by calling 800-683-6696 toll-free or 813- 523-9700, by accessing Quarterdeck's Web site at
quarterdeck.com, or by sending e-mail requests to info@quarterdeck.com.
Quarterdeck, CleanSweep, Procomm Plus, QEMM, and WebCompass are registered trademarks of Quarterdeck Corporation.
tune-up, Manama, Partition-It, RapidRemote, WINProbe, and Zip-It are trademarks of Quarterdeck Corporation or its
subsidiaries. All other brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
holders.
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Expressions of future goals and similar expressions reflecting something other than
historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such
statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the timely development
and market acceptance of products and technologies, successful integration of acquisitions and divestitures of non-core assets,
the effect of conversion of the Company's convertible preferred stock, and other factors described in the Company's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The actual results that the Company achieves may differ materially from any
forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligations to revise or update
any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.
SOURCE: Quarterdeck Corporation |
