HearMe And AudioTalk To Merge Creating Live Voice Powerhouse; Combined Company Accelerates Business-to-Business Product Offerings
(BusinessWire, 03/13/2000 16:27)
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2000--HearMe (NASDAQ:HEAR) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to merge with AudioTalk Networks, a privately held leading provider of Internet voice and IP telephony technologies to Web businesses.
The addition of AudioTalk's products, technology and staff will enable HearMe to accelerate the availability of its live voice product offerings targeted specifically at business customers engaged in customer relationship management, e-commerce, business conferencing, and distance learning. HearMe's management believes the merger will increase HearMe's technology licensing revenue beginning in the second quarter of this year by delivering real-time communications capabilities to a growing number of e-businesses and Web sites.
Terms of the agreement provide for the exchange of AudioTalk's outstanding shares for a combination of mostly stock and some cash estimated at approximately $125 million. The transaction will be accounted for as a purchase and is expected to close during the second quarter of 2000.
The merger will bolster HearMe's current position as a dominant provider of voice over the Internet. HearMe currently hosts more than 10 million minutes of live voice usage per day, making it the leading provider of voice over IP, based upon publicly available information. HearMe has built robust back-end services to accommodate high volumes of voice communication and to support large customers.
AudioTalk adds key capabilities to HearMe's live voice solutions that will expand the market for Internet-based voice products. These standards-compliant technologies include phone-to-PC and PC-to-phone conference calling, voice mail, and voice-enabled notes and messages. AudioTalk has also pioneered important voice features designed to enhance the user experience that include: *T -- Fire-wall compatibility for use by corporations -- Automatic gain control to eliminate the need for microphone
configuration -- User-moderation for the ability to manage and control group
conversations -- Simultaneous (full duplex) two-way communication *T
AudioTalk's technology complies with key IP telephony standards and supports multiple operating environments including Windows and Linux.
"AudioTalk provides HearMe with highly-complementary capabilities that enable us to expand our product line much faster than if we had continued to build it ourselves," explained HearMe CEO Paul Matteucci. "Furthermore, AudioTalk has gained impressive momentum with key customers in the business-to-business segment with its outstanding `click-to-talk' product and brings to us some of the best engineers that we have encountered in the IP telephony sector. Going forward, HearMe will continue to be aggressive in adding technical capabilities to address the huge opportunity in real-time Internet communications."
"HearMe has demonstrated its ability to bring the benefits of Internet live voice to millions of users," said Frank Chu, AudioTalk CEO. "The opportunity to sell our products into this rapidly growing user base and to leverage HearMe's proven ability to scale real-time applications to millions of customers make this a very exciting combination." Chu will serve as HearMe's senior vice president and general manager for Business Products and Services.
Driving Revenues With New Customers and Markets for HearMe Voice
The agreement also brings new customers to HearMe's base of 24 technology licensing customers. Several companies have already licensed AudioTalk technologies for Web-based customer service, business-to-business conferencing, and distance learning applications. AudioTalk customers include: Evoke (formerly Vstream), Framecast, eInstructions, sina.com and Creative Labs. HearMe management expects to realize immediate revenue upside from the merger, beginning in the second quarter of 2000 as a result of these new customer relationships.
Technology Expertise in Internet Voice, Audio and Video
AudioTalk's 30-member staff will join HearMe, building critical mass in HearMe's live voice engineering and sales teams and lending many years of experience in audio, IP telephony, and video conferencing as well as in networking, multmedia hardware, and Internet infrastructure. Both companies believe live video will be an important addition to HearMe's real-time platform in the near future and AudioTalk's expertise in this area will be extremely valuable.
About AudioTalk
AudioTalk Networks, Inc., based in Mountain View, Calif., is a leading provider of IP telephony and standards-based voice services to Internet businesses. AudioTalk creates the enabling technology and turnkey services and infrastructure to add Internet voice communications to Web sites without installing additional hardware and software. AudioTalk's e-business customers add Internet voice services to enhance online Web communities, sell products, provide customer assistance and communicate in ways unique to the Internet. AudioTalk Networks was founded in August 1998 by executives and engineers from leading Internet, networking and multimedia application vendors, including Creative Labs, FVC.com, Polycom, ShareVision, Bay Networks, and Oracle.
About HearMe
HearMe is reshaping today's Internet applications into real-time interactive experiences through which large groups of people can connect and communicate using text, voice and video. The Company develops, operates and licenses technology that enables real-time Internet communication and communities where people can gather to share affinities, interests, or ideas. Communication tools such as text chat applications and instant messengers are already incorporating HearMe(TM) technology to enable real-time voice interaction among multiple people. More than 50,000 Web content and service providers have signed up to bring HearMe voice capabilities to their Web sites.
HearMe technologies are enhancing a wide range of Internet applications including e-commerce, live customer support, business-to-business collaboration, distance learning, entertainment and consumer communities. Companies working with HearMe technology and services include MTV Online Networks, Macromedia, Asiacontent.com, theglobe.com, Talk City, StarMedia Network, GTECH Corporation, LG InterNet and Sony Online Entertainment. Founded in early 1995 as Mpath Interactive, Inc., HearMe is located in Mountain View, Calif. The Company can be found on the Internet at www.hearme.com or reached at 650/429-3900.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, HearMe's dependence on its ability to significantly increase its user base, user minutes, advertising revenue and revenue from HearMe Technology Products customers; to launch new products, to maintain and develop strategic relationships with media, Internet and technology companies; to recruit engineering and technical staff, and to compete effectively. These and other risk factors are described in detail in the company's Registration Statement on Form S-1, the company's report on Form 10-Q for the period ended Sept. 30, 1999 and in HearMe's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Note to Editors: HearMe, HearMe.com, and Mplayer.com are trademarks of HearMe. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.
CONTACT: HearMe
Paula Fujimoto, 650/429-3610
press@hearme.com
or
Morgen-Walke Associates
Jonathan Schaffer/Jill Fatzinger, 415/296-7383 (IR)
Alicia Nieva-Woodgate, 415/296-7383 (Media Relations)
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