A competitor in ESD...
Business Wire
PREVIEW SOFTWARE AND PORTLAND SOFTWARE TO
MERGE; MARKET LEADERS UNITE TO OFFER THE
BROADEST RANGE OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE
ELECTRONIC SALES AND MARKETING OF DIGITAL
GOODS
CUPERTINO, Calif. and PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
April 27, 1998--Preview Software and Portland Software today jointly
announced the signing of an agreement to merge in a stock-for-stock
transaction that will result in a combined company with current
venture funding of over $20 million. The merger of equals unites the
market-leading technologies of the two companies to create the most
complete and flexible end-to-end ESD commerce platform, and positions
the new company to extend this foundation with innovative products and
services.
The combination of Preview Software's Vbox(TM) product line with
Portland Software's ZipLock(TM) system, already being integrated under
an existing partnership agreement, offers publishers, distributors,
resellers, and customers the most interoperable end-to-end
infrastructure to support the electronic sales and marketing of
software and other digital assets. The platform gives publishers and
channel partners an efficient way to work together with multiple
resellers, while ensuring they can take advantage of emerging
e-commerce trends like remote license management, software rentals,
pay-per-use, and subscriptions without having to design these options
into a title from the outset.
"The merger is great news for the software industry. It leverages
the best of both companies, combining our partner and customer bases
and our shared strategic vision for creating robust, scaleable, and
flexible ESD solutions worldwide," said Charles Jennings, Co-Founder
and CEO of Portland Software and now a Director of the new company.
"Our combined array of solutions and expertise, based upon our
complementary competencies, offers both existing and new customers
tremendous and immediate advantages, especially for those who want to
invest with a clear market leader without sacrificing choice in their
e-commerce business models. By combining the two engineering teams, we
will accelerate the roll-out of incredibly powerful new ways of
marketing to and supporting an installed base of channel partners and
end users," said Dr. Vincent Pluvinage, President and CEO of Preview
Software, and now CEO and a Director of the new company.
The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously
approved terms of the agreement. The merged entity, to be named later,
will be based in the two current locations; Cupertino, CA and
Portland, OR. The Cupertino office, in the heart of Silicon Valley,
will serve as the headquarters of the new company.
Portland Software, a pioneer since its contribution of critical
technology to the original Microsoft ESD pilot in 1995, has the
largest globally-deployed base of ESD commerce servers operated by
software publishers, resellers, and e-commerce service providers. The
Portland server system is uniquely capable of integrating the
fulfillment of digital goods, the associated electronic transactions,
digital licensing and multiple tiers of pricing and marketing
information. The information flows can link with existing
industrial-strength database systems and with leading commerce
systems. The system can scale from a self-contained complete solution
for direct sales to a distributed set of linked servers. Because of
its comprehensive and flexible design, the Portland solution can adapt
to direct, single-tier and two-tier distribution systems.
Preview Software has the most widely distributed secure,
persistent-client technology, incorporated into over 1,200 software
titles. The company's Vbox is the most popular choice of software
publishers to electronically package titles for digital distribution
and sales with desirable customer features such as Try-Before-You-Buy
and support for new commerce models like software rental.
The merger gives publishers many choices in how to implement
their ESD strategy, supported by the alliances of Portland Software
and Preview Software. Publishers selling direct may choose to run
their own ESD Web operation or outsource transaction processing to
leading commerce service providers such as Cybersource and Concentric
(NASDAQ:CNCX.O). In addition, Portland Software's ZipLock ESD commerce
solution integrates tightly with Microsoft Site Server, iCAT and Open
Market Transact, the most popular Web commerce server platforms.
Preview Software's Vbox technology is the exclusive Try-Before-You-Buy
choice of key online resellers including BUYDIRECT.COM, software.net,
eWarehouse and Netscape Software Depot by software.net.
Current customers of the combined company include leading
software publishers such as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT.O), Quarterdeck,
Broderbund (NASDAQ:BROD.O), IMSI (NASDAQ:IMSI.O), Connectix, Ulead,
Digital Galway, Seagate Software (NYSE:SEG), Visioneer (NASDAQ:VSNR.O),
and Global Link.
Analysts Comment
"The Portland/Preview merger will allow software publishers,
distributors, and resellers to focus on the business complexities of
electronic software distribution," said Chris Stevens, senior analyst
with the Aberdeen Group, Inc. "This merger provides the technology
baseline for the software industry to deploy truly valuable software
buying services -- the real crux of ESD."
"Not surprisingly, software publishers don't want to deal with a
half-dozen different ESD technology vendors whose products may not
even work together," said Softletter publisher Jeffrey Tarter, a
leading ESD analyst. "The merger of Preview and Portland Software
provides one of the most comprehensive sets of development tools for
ESD anywhere in the marketplace, as well as a potential standard for
ESD delivery channels."
Customer Reaction
"Broderbund is pleased to hear of the merger between Preview
Software and Portland Software. After evaluation of cost benefits and
flexibility of different technologies to support unlocking, we had
reached the conclusion that these two companies were number one on the
client side and the server side respectively. Now, with their merger,
we anticipate that the combined company will be able to meet both our
near term and long term needs in this area with one-stop shopping,"
said Nick Robins, Manager, Internet Product Direction, Broderbund
Software, Inc.
Online Reseller Response
"The merger between Preview Software and Portland Software is
good news to us, because their client and server technologies can
handle the entire ESD commerce backbone for sites like BUYDIRECT.COM
to reliably manage software downloading and purchasing," said William
Headapohl, President and Chief Operating Officer for BUYDIRECT, Inc, a
recent spin out of CNET (NASDAQ:CNWK.O). "As our business grows, it's
encouraging to see this technology platform consolidated under one
company."
Partners Comment
"Concentric is excited by the merger of Portland Software and
Preview Software. There is a natural fit between the capabilities of
these two leading ESD technologies," said Connie DeWitt, Director of
Applications Hosting, Concentric Network Corporation. "Both the
Portland and Preview products are part of our e-commerce strategy, and
we anticipate that the new combined company will provide the market
with an even more versatile and robust digital commerce solution."
"e.Media has built its reputation on offering our customers
single source, Best-of-Class e-Business solutions. ZipLock has been
our ESD cornerstone system," said Darwin Melnyk, President of e.Media.
"The combination of Portland Software and Preview Software guarantees
our customers will have the most complete digital commerce solution
available. Additionally, the new platform is powerful and flexible
enough to evolve with our customers' business models. This is a key
requirement which enables us to support the innovation of our
customers."
"The merger of Preview Software and Portland Software builds on
both companies' philosophy and commitment to create an ESD commerce
platform having wide interoperability and utility," said Tony Bates,
Executive Vice President and International General Manager of
CyberSource Corporation. "Preview's recent agreement to integrate our
SmartCert technology into the Vbox platform is also a demonstration of
this commitment."
About Portland Software
Portland Software is a leading developer and marketer of secure
business applications for electronic software distribution (ESD). In
1995, Portland Software was the first company to introduce technology
for ESD commerce on the Internet. Today, through its third-generation
ZipLock technology, Portland Software offers a complete, end-to-end
ESD commerce system, used by numerous online resellers to sell
thousands of products encrypted by ZipLock from hundreds of software
publishers. Founded in 1994, Portland Software is headquartered in
Portland, Oregon. For more information, visit Portland Software's Web
site at www.ziplock.com, www.portsoft.com or call 1-888-ESD-MADE or
1-503/220-2300 outside of the US and Canada.
About Preview Software
Recently listed as one of Upside Magazine's Hot 100 Companies,
Preview is changing the way software is bought and sold. The company's
patents-pending Vbox technology enables the sophisticated electronic
distribution of software titles, making it more affordable to market
and distribute software, and easier to buy software however and
whenever customers choose. Preview's persistent client technology is
the most widely distributed, incorporated into over 1200 titles, and
is the exclusive choice of leading online resellers, including
BUYDIRECT.COM, Netscape Software Depot (NASDAQ:NSCP.O) by software.net,
eWarehouse, and software.net. Preview's Web site is
www.previewsoft.com and phone is 800-773-8422 or 1-408/873-3450
outside the US and Canada.
-0-
Note to Editors: Vbox, Vbox Builder and Preview Software are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Preview Software. All other
products and brands may be trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective owners. ZipLock and Portland Software are trademarks
of Portland Software.
--30--eh/sf*
CONTACT: Portland Software
Kate Joseph, 503/220-2300
kate@portsoft.com
or
McLean PR
Jessie Brumfiel, 650/685-3840
jb@mcleanpr.com
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA OREGON
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED MERGERS/ACQ
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