F O R . I M M E D I A T E . R E L E A S E
RELEASE DATE: May 18, 1999
CONTACT: Karen Elliott, Spectrum - Investor Communications,
604-421-5422
Email: Karen_Elliott@spectrumsignal.com
SPECTRUM SIGNAL PROCESSING SIGNS $ 6.3 MILLION INVESTMENT AGREEMENT WITH
TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS CANADA (TPC)
Burnaby, B.C., Canada - May 18, 1999 - Spectrum Signal Processing Inc.
(NASDAQ: SSPI / TSE:SSY), announced today that it has signed a $ 6.3 million
(Cdn) investment agreement with Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC), to
finance research and development of a new Spectrum product line targeted to
the telecommunications market. This investment will enable Spectrum to
accelerate its investment in this high-growth market, and improve the
Company's competitive position internationally.
Spectrum currently develops a variety of telecommunications products that
are used for surveillance, secure communications and spectrum monitoring in
the law enforcement and defense markets. Rapid advances in digital signal
processing technology have created new opportunities for Spectrum - a world
leader in high-performance DSP systems - to leverage its considerable
technological expertise in this area into the commercial marketplace.
Spectrum will use the repayable investment from TPC to accelerate
development of next-generation hardware and software systems that could be
deployed in high-end commercial applications, such as telecommunications
servers and wireless base stations. The first of these new products is
expected to be released in the year 2000.
"In 1998, Spectrum identified telecommunications as a key growth market for
our technology. With TPC's support, we can now put in place the resources,
people and partners needed to accelerate the development of new products, to
speed our time to market, and to greatly enhance our ability to increase our
share of key defense and commercial markets," said Barry Jinks, President &
CEO.
"We've got a lot of work ahead of us before our first products are ready for
the market, but we'll be announcing clear product development and project
milestones as we progress toward commercialization. Our management team is
very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, for us and for our
shareholders," Jinks added.
Technology Partnerships Canada is a key element in the government's strategy
to promote economic growth and job creation through innovation, positioning
Canada to be a leader in the global knowledge economy of the 21st century.
The program represents an investment approach to technological development
with real risk and reward-sharing with the private sector. Investments are
repayable and are intended to help ensure that products with high potential
reach the marketplace.
Spectrum Signal Processing is a world leader in DSP system solutions, and
offers DSP software, off-the-shelf hardware, custom ASIC design and complete
custom systems. The company is ISO9001 quality certified, and can be found
on the web at spectrumsignal.com. Spectrum is located at #100 -
8525 Baxter Place, Burnaby, B.C., Canada. ph (604) 421-5422; fax (604)
421-1764.
Any statements made by the company that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements that are pursuant to the safe harbor provisions
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties, including the timely development
and acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products and
pricing, changing market conditions and the other risks detailed in the
company's prospectus and from time to time in other filings. Actual results
may differ materially from those projected. These forward-looking
statements represent the company's judgment as of the date of this release.
The company may or may not update these forward-looking statements in the
future.
- 30 -
Spectrum Fact Sheet
Quick Facts about Spectrum:
Spectrum is an established leader in the rapidly-growing, high-performance
DSP systems market, serving major commercial, defense and industrial
customers throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Simply put, Spectrum
helps its customers make their products better through the use of digital
technology.
The high-performance DSP systems market is growing rapidly due to major
technological advances and increased applications for DSP technology in
everything from communications surveillance to medical diagnostics.
The high-performance, outsourced DSP systems market - the particular niche
in which Spectrum competes - represents nearly 30% of the US$ 1.1 billion
worldwide DSP systems business, and both are growing rapidly.
Spectrum has a long list of established and respected Fortune 500 customers.
This is a clear endorsement of the company's growing reputation for
technological innovation and expertise in high-performance DSP systems.
Spectrum, created in 1987, is a global company with headquarters located in
Burnaby, BC, four sales offices in the USA, one sales office in the UK and a
wholly-owned subsidiary located in Scotland.
What is DSP?:
Digital signal processing (DSP) is a breakthrough technology that is
changing the way machines interact with our world and how we interact with
machines.
DSP involves the conversion of "real world" signals, such as light, sound
and images, into the digital language of computers - zeroes and ones. Once
"digitized" these signals can be enhanced, compressed and manipulated,
improving the performance of a wide range of sophisticated electronics
systems.
DSP is a complex, fast-evolving technology in which Spectrum has developed a
high level of expertise that our customers aren't able to match. In a
nutshell, we are the DSP experts that our customers rely on.
Spectrum's DSP systems can be used in a wide range of high-end electronics
applications such as communications surveillance, medical diagnostic
imaging, radar/sonar, and machine control.
Some examples:
* National law enforcement and intelligence agencies use Spectrum's
digital radio products to track and prevent drug trafficking and terrorist
activities.
* Sunkist uses Spectrum's technology to help sort good oranges from
bad, thereby improving the quality of oranges consumers buy at the local
grocery store.
* Siemens Medical Systems uses a Spectrum DSP system in a
sophisticated medical imaging device, enabling medical professionals to make
better diagnoses and better treatment decisions for patients.
Key Facts about the TPC investment:
TPC is investing Cdn $6.3 million to enable Spectrum to build on its current
expertise in digital communications technology and penetrate the high-growth
telecommunications market. Potential applications include
telecommunications servers and wireless base stations.
Spectrum will use this investment to expedite development of the next
generation of digital communications technology, thus bringing it to market
faster and gaining a competitive edge in key commercial, industrial and
defense markets.
The TPC investment helps lay the foundation to accelerate and broaden
Spectrum's product design and development pipeline, and to grow our sales
and earnings in the years ahead.
The TPC investment will enable Spectrum to create 75 new high-tech
R&D-related jobs, nearly doubling the company's current engineering staff.
Under the terms of the agreement, Spectrum will pay TPC a royalty based on
sales of the new TPC-funded products, commencing in 2001. The repayable
financing bears no interest charges.
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