DCLK News:
HOUSTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Enhanced Services Co. Inc. and
Zulu-tek Inc. (BB:NETZ) said Monday that their boards had
agreed to continue to pursue a business combination of the two
companies but remained sketchy on many details.
Zulu-tek took over Softbank Interactive Marketing, the
Internet advertising network, in January, the same month it
changed its name from NetMaster.
In a statement issued Monday, Enhanced Services said the
resulting entity will be a single enterprise that will pursue a
coordinated, vertically integrated business plan focused
principally on Internet advertising, electronic commerce,
technology development and laptop sales via the Internet.
Management of Enhanced and Zulu-tek are now developing the
precise structure of the stages for the transaction, which is
expected to be implemented later this year, they said.
Softbank Interactive Marketing has been considered a
leading supplier of Internet advertising for a host of top-name
corporations and Web sites. The company was seen as a major
rival of DoubleClick Inc. (NASDAQ:DCLK).
But the company has undergone an executive exodus since the
fall, when Softbank (TOKYO:9984), the Japanese software and media
giant, put the company up for sale, and has maintained a
significantly lower profile since Zulu-tek acquired it.
"We've been purposely very quiet," Heather Midgley, an
outside spokeswoman for Zulu-tek, told Reuters Monday. But she
declined to offer details on the company's business plans or
how the integration of Zulu-tek and Softbank was going.
Houston-based Enhanced Services describes itself as providing
technical services for portable computer users, including
repair and maintenance. It also sells enhancement accessories
for portable computers and provides computer multimedia
development services.
In anticipation of the combination, Enhanced reported that
it may make additional investments in Zulu-tek and is pursuing
a private placement to fund a combined business strategy.
On March 9, Zulu-tek announced that Enhanced had made an
investment of undisclosed size in Zulu-tek and that it expected
to begin a $50 million private placement of convertible
preferred shares to begin in mid-March. Midgley said Monday the
two companies were still pursuing private placement backers.
The combination of the two companies is subject to
regulatory and shareholder approval and compliance with Nasdaq
rules, they said.
Enhanced Services' stock was down 3/4 to 6-5/8 on small
volume in trading Monday on the Nasdaq, while Zulu-tek's stock
had gained 1 cent to 53 cents in early afternoon-trading Monday
on the over-the-counter bulletin board.
Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service
Companies or Securities discussed in this article:
Symbol
Name
NASDAQ:ESVS
BB:NETZ
Netmaster Group Inc
NASDAQ:DCLK
TOKYO:9984
Soft Bank Corp. |
