Looks like a good acquisition. The earnings are going to scare some people out of INFR. Is anyone on the thread buying more? Calvin
Inference Acquires Web-Based E-Commerce
Sales Company and Announces Preliminary First Quarter Results
NOVATO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 1999--Inference
Corporation (Nasdaq:INFR) today announced that it has acquired Verix
Software, a privately held developer of Web direct sales applications
for e-commerce companies.
Inference also indicated that, excluding costs and expenses
associated with the acquisition, it expects to report a net loss in
the range of $1.3 million to $1.6 million on revenues of $6.1 million
to $6.4 million for the first quarter ended April 30, 1999.
Acquisition related expenses, which consist primarily of acquired
in-process research and development, are expected to be in the range
of $200,000 to $700,000, subject to an independent valuation of the
acquired assets of Verix. All estimates are preliminary and have been
prepared using partial information and management estimates.
"Product revenues were well below expectations for the quarter,
caused primarily by a number of potential customers deferring their
purchasing decisions," said Charles W. Jepson, president and chief
executive officer of Inference. "In addition, as we work to expand
marketshare by entering into new, web-based markets with our
k-Commerce products, we are seeing increased competition."
The company indicated it expects first quarter product revenues
in the range of $2.9 million to $3.1 million and service revenues in
the range of $3.2 million to $3.3 million. For the comparable quarter
ended April 30, 1998, the company reported revenues of $6.3 million,
and a net loss of $2.7 million or $0.36 per share. Product revenues
for the first quarter last year were $3.1 million and services
revenues were $3.3 million.
The company anticipates releasing complete financial results on
May 19, 1999.
Verix Brings Real Time Direct Sales & Marketing to the Internet
Inference has acquired 100% of the shares of Verix Software of
Los Angeles in a stock and cash transaction consisting primarily of
stock. The transaction was completed on April 30, 1999 and will be
accounted for using the purchase method.
"One of the biggest challenges that companies face is converting
e-commerce shoppers into buyers," said Jepson. "The Verix technology
provides the foundation for our k-Commerce Sales application which is
focused on giving our customers the ability to provide dynamic, highly
personalized sales web sites to increase revenue. Combined with our
k-Commerce Support products, we intend to offer solutions across the
entire e-commerce customer lifecycle that are designed to improve
overall customer satisfaction and retention.
"The acquisition of Verix Software is an important piece of
Inference's stated corporate strategy to build its business via both
acquisitions and organic growth," continued Jepson. "We are excited
about the opportunities its solutions open up in the area of Web-based
sales and expect the Verix portion of our business to begin generating
revenues later this year."
The addition of Verix Software's Web customer profiling,
personalization, product configuration and real-time sales promotions
technology to Inference's k-Commerce solution is designed to enable
real-time and targeted sales promotions to drive Web direct selling.
Targeted for release later this year, k-Commerce Sales plans to enable
companies the opportunity to sell, upsell and cross-sell based on each
customer's preferences.
"Inference's new k-Commerce Sales application has an exciting
opportunity for growth," said Ken Hoang, CEO, Verix Software. "We are
going after a very large market with this new solution, and the
acquisition of our company by Inference provides us with the resources
to accelerate our vision." |
