(PR NEWSWIRE) Spyglass and JSB Close SurfWatch Software Division Transacti
Spyglass and JSB Close SurfWatch Software Division Transaction
Company Expects Approximately $27 Million Pre-tax Gain on Sale
NAPERVILLE, Ill., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Internet pioneer Spyglass Inc.
(Nasdaq: SPYG) announced today that it has closed the transaction to sell its
SurfWatch Software division to Scotts Valley, Calif. JSB Software Technologies
PLC (EASDAQ: JSBS), a leading provider of Internet access management software
(surfCONTROL).
(Photo: newscom.com )
Spyglass received $17 million cash and $12 million in JSB equity
securities. The transaction, which will result in a pre-tax gain of
approximately $27 million, closed simultaneously with JSB's public offering of
JSB equity securities on the EASDAQ Stock Market in Europe.
Commenting on the closing of the transaction, Spyglass Chairman and CEO
Douglas Colbeth said, "The divestiture of SurfWatch gives Spyglass the
opportunity to focus 100 percent of our resources on the information appliance
market. The redeployment of our capital strengthens our ability to provide
Internet solutions to the mobile data communications and interactive
television space, and will enable Spyglass to make additional strategic
investments in those areas."
"Now that the transaction is closed, both companies are prepared to
accelerate execution of our respective strategies, said JSB Group Chief
Executive Robert Barrow. "When JSB reviewed all the content filtering choices
available, we knew that we wanted SurfWatch, because they fit well with our
previously announced acquisitions. surfCONTROL is now better equipped to
provide businesses and educational institutions alike with the market's
premier tools for safe and effective access to the Internet."
Spyglass will retain rights to resell SurfWatch software to customers in
the interactive television market on a worldwide basis. To date, Spyglass has
agreements with several interactive television customers including Microsoft
WebTV, Comcast, WorldGate, Excite@Home, and American Interactive Media.
About JSB'S surfCONTROL
surfCONTROL, a division of JSB Software Technologies PLC, is the foremost
authority on corporate filtering, providing the market's premier Internet
access management software. Based on sophisticated "Expert Filtering" and
"Pass-By" technologies, the surfCONTROL family ensures that corporate
"Internet Access is Business Access." This comprehensive line of Internet
monitoring, management and filtering offerings address many of the key issues
raised by corporate Internet access, such as productivity, legal liability,
infrastructure bandwidth, and network security.
surfCONTROL ( surfcontrol.com ) is a division of JSB Software
Technologies PLC ( jsb.com ), the prime architect for the Windows
Sockets standard and provider of innovative communications technology for the
world's leading ISVs. surfCONTROL works with a range of strategic partners,
including Check Point Software, Hewlett Packard, IBM, ICSA, ISS Inc.,
(PR NEWSWIRE) Spyglass and JSB Close SurfWatch Software Division Transacti
Spyglass and JSB Close SurfWatch Software Division Transaction
Company Expects Approximately $27 Million Pre-tax Gain on Sale
NAPERVILLE, Ill., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Internet pioneer Spyglass Inc.
(Nasdaq: SPYG) announced today that it has closed the transaction to sell its
SurfWatch Software division to Scotts Valley, Calif. JSB Software Technologies
PLC (EASDAQ: JSBS), a leading provider of Internet access management software
(surfCONTROL).
(Photo: newscom.com )
Spyglass received $17 million cash and $12 million in JSB equity
securities. The transaction, which will result in a pre-tax gain of
approximately $27 million, closed simultaneously with JSB's public offering of
JSB equity securities on the EASDAQ Stock Market in Europe.
Commenting on the closing of the transaction, Spyglass Chairman and CEO
Douglas Colbeth said, "The divestiture of SurfWatch gives Spyglass the
opportunity to focus 100 percent of our resources on the information appliance
market. The redeployment of our capital strengthens our ability to provide
Internet solutions to the mobile data communications and interactive
television space, and will enable Spyglass to make additional strategic
investments in those areas."
"Now that the transaction is closed, both companies are prepared to
accelerate execution of our respective strategies, said JSB Group Chief
Executive Robert Barrow. "When JSB reviewed all the content filtering choices
available, we knew that we wanted SurfWatch, because they fit well with our
previously announced acquisitions. surfCONTROL is now better equipped to
provide businesses and educational institutions alike with the market's
premier tools for safe and effective access to the Internet."
Spyglass will retain rights to resell SurfWatch software to customers in
the interactive television market on a worldwide basis. To date, Spyglass has
agreements with several interactive television customers including Microsoft
WebTV, Comcast, WorldGate, Excite@Home, and American Interactive Media.
About JSB'S surfCONTROL
surfCONTROL, a division of JSB Software Technologies PLC, is the foremost
authority on corporate filtering, providing the market's premier Internet
access management software. Based on sophisticated "Expert Filtering" and
"Pass-By" technologies, the surfCONTROL family ensures that corporate
"Internet Access is Business Access." This comprehensive line of Internet
monitoring, management and filtering offerings address many of the key issues
raised by corporate Internet access, such as productivity, legal liability,
infrastructure bandwidth, and network security.
surfCONTROL ( surfcontrol.com ) is a division of JSB Software
Technologies PLC ( jsb.com ), the prime architect for the Windows
Sockets standard and provider of innovative communications technology for the
world's leading ISVs. surfCONTROL works with a range of strategic partners,
including Check Point Software, Hewlett Packard, IBM, ICSA, ISS Inc.,
Microsoft, NCR Corporation, and Tivoli Systems. Headquartered in Scotts
Valley, Calif. and Manchester, UK, JSB is quoted on the European Association
of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (EASDAQ) as 'JSBS'.
About Spyglass
Spyglass (Nasdaq: SPYG) is a leading provider of strategic Internet
consulting, software, and professional services that enable content providers,
service operators and device manufacturers to capitalize on the potential of
the Internet. Market-leading companies using Spyglass solutions include GTE,
General Instrument, Microsoft, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Sony, Thomson Consumer
Electronics, and Xerox. Spyglass is headquartered in Naperville, Ill. and has
regional offices in Lexington, Mass., Silicon Valley, Calif., London and
Tokyo. Visit spyglass.com for more information.
Spyglass and the Spyglass logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Spyglass, Inc., in the United States and other countries. Mosaic is a
trademark of the University of Illinois. SurfWatch is a registered trademark
of SurfWatch Software, a division of Spyglass, Inc. (Other technologies and
brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
companies.) This release contains information about management's future
expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements
for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from
those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various
important factors including owning equity securities in JSB Software
Technologies PLC, consummation of binding agreements with prospective business
partners, competition, development of the marketplace, the timing of the
execution and recognition of revenues under new agreements, the ability to
close and execute large multi-year contracts, product development,
technological change and other factors that are discussed in the company's
annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 1998 and other
documents periodically filed with the SEC.
SOURCE Spyglass Inc.
-0- 11/04/1999
/CONTACT: Press-Industry Analysts, Amanda Ingalls, 630-245-6512, or
aingalls@spyglass.com, or Investors-Financial Analysts, Bruce Beerbower,
630-245-6656, or bbeerbower@spyglass.com, both of Spyglass Inc.,or Steve
Purdham of JSB surfCONTROL, 831-431-1358, or stevep@surfcontrol.com, or Craig
Librett of Miller-Shandwick Technologies, 617-351-4129, or
clibrett@miller.shandwick.com/
/Photo: newscom.com or
PR Newswire Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 201-369-3467/
/Web site: surfcontrol.com /
/Web site: jsb.com /
/Web site: spyglass.com /
(SPYG)
CO: Spyglass Inc.; JSB Software Technologies PLC; SurfWatch Software
ST: Illinois, California
IN: CPR
SU: TNM
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