Z,
Snap to be spun off. DSS up to 16 on over 400,000 shares so far. You should be pleased, albeit it would have been better for us if they had done this with DLT in the halcyon days. No more tracking stocks.
Interesting days ahead, if NAS stays as hot as it has been.
Quantum Announces Plan to Form a Separate
Company Focusing On NAS Appliances
Quantum DSS Refocusing on Storage Devices and Solutions for Enterprise Markets
MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2000--Quantum Corporation's DLT and Storage Systems Group
(NYSE:DSS - news) today announced plans to form two distinct companies from its DSS businesses by making its
server appliances subsidiary an independent, publicly-traded company called Snap Appliances, Inc.
In a separate news release, Snap Appliances announced that it intends to file a registration statement with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock.
Quantum will conduct an initial public offering for less than 20 percent of Snap Appliance shares. Approximately six
months following the IPO, Quantum intends to distribute the balance of the shares to Quantum DSS stockholders
subject to receiving a favorable IRS ruling and board approval.
Quantum DSS will be comprised of two business groups: Enterprise Solutions and DLTtape. The Enterprise Solutions
Group, building on the Quantum/ATL brand, will grow the company's current position beyond leadership in tape
automation systems, into storage solutions supported by direct sales and service capability. The DLTtape Group, the
world's largest tape drive business, will continue to expand its leadership position in storage devices and media.
``With Quantum DSS as a separate company, we will have greater market focus on data protection for enterprise
markets, backed by industry leading tape automation, tape drives and media,'' said Michael Brown, Quantum chairman
and CEO. ``The growth in e-business, particularly among Internet service providers, application service providers and
dot.com companies is creating strong demand for sophisticated tape automation solutions for backup and archival of
mission-critical data.''
The company's Enterprise Solutions Group, comprised of ATL tape automation systems, is focused on sustaining
growth in the market for mid-range and high-end library systems. The business is a leading provider of DLTtape(TM)
libraries covering a full spectrum of workgroup, departmental, mid-range and enterprise-class applications. Providing the
industry's most comprehensive product family ranging from desktop to data center, ATL library systems provide
high-performance, proven reliability, cost-effectiveness and scalability for organizations requiring backup, archival and
recovery of business-critical computer data. The Enterprise Solutions Group also has an established partnership with
Network Appliance to deliver complete fibre channel and gigabit Ethernet (GbE) storage solutions. The Group will
continue to work with other industry leaders, as it has with Network Appliance, Cisco, Veritas and others in the Open
Storage Networking (OSN) initiative to deliver integrated solutions which realize the promise of reliability and openness
for shared data in a networked environment.
Quantum's DLTtape Group will continue its industry leadership for tape drives and media, while growing the business
beyond the recently introduced Super DLTtape(TM) platform to include new directions such as autoloaders, branded
products and near on-line storage. With more than 1.5 million DLTtape drives and nearly 50 million DLTtape media
cartridges installed to date, DLTtape technology is the de facto standard for back up and archiving of business-critical
data from mid-range servers and high-end workstations. Last quarter, the company began shipments of its
next-generation Super DLTtape products, which offer substantially higher storage capacities and quicker data transfer
rates than standard DLTtape, but are part of the world's most widely-adopted, scalable, and compatible tape format.
About Quantum
Founded in 1980, Quantum Corporation (www.Quantum.com) is one of the world's leading storage suppliers. Its
principal products include hard disk drives for both the desktop and high-end market segments, tape drives, network
attached storage (NAS) appliances, solid state systems, hard disk drive appliances for consumer electronics, and
DLTtape(TM) automation systems. In 1999, Quantum became the first Silicon Valley company to issue tracking stock,
replacing its existing common stock with the ticker symbols DSS and HDD, which track the separate performance of the
company's DLT and Storage Systems and Hard Disk Drive businesses. Both stocks are traded on the New York Stock
Exchange. Selling its products through OEM and distribution channels worldwide, Quantum's sales for the fiscal year
ended March 2000 were $1.4 billion for Quantum's DLT and Storage Systems Group and $3.3 billion for Quantum's
Hard Disk Drive Group.
Quantum Corp., 500 McCarthy Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035, 408/894-4000, www.quantum.com.
Note to Editors: Quantum and the Quantum logo are trademarks of Quantum Corporation, registered in the United
States and other countries. DLTtape and Super DLTtape are trademarks of Quantum Corporation.
``Safe Harbor'' Statement under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains
certain ``forward-looking'' statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
concerning (i) Quantum's intent to conduct an initial public offering of Snap and to subsequently distribute shares of
Snap stock to Quantum stockholders; and (ii) Quantum's future financial and operating results, including the growth of
Quantum's businesses into new directions and its continued industry leadership in tape drives and media. These
statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. As a result,
actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those described herein include: (1) with respect to the initial public offering, the condition
of the public markets; the performance of Snap; failure to obtain approval from the Securities and Exchange
Commission in a timely manner; the willingness of Snap's investment bankers to proceed with a public offering given
the current market environment and other industry-specific, as well as general economic, factors that could impact the
success of an offering of this nature; and (2) with respect to Quantum's future financial and operating results, the
successful execution of Quantum's strategy to expand its businesses into new directions; Quantum's ability to
successfully introduce new products; Quantum's ability to anticipate and capitalize on changes in market demand;
acceptance of, and demand for, Quantum's products; Quantum's ability to maintain supplier relationships; Quantum's
ability to work with industry leaders to deliver customers with integrated business solutions; the ability of Quantum's
competitors to introduce new products that compete more successfully with its products; the economic environment of
the storage industry; and the general economic environment. More detailed information about these factors, and
additional factors, are set forth in Quantum's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including,
but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties listed in the section entitled ``Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations -- Trends and Uncertainties,'' pages 30-33 and 49-53, in Quantum's
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 8, 2000 and
``Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations -- Trends and Uncertainties,''
pages II-8 to II-10 and III-7 to III-10, in Quantum's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on June 28, 2000. Quantum is under no obligation (and expressly disclaim any obligation) to
update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
Quantum Corporation
Emory Epperson, 408/894-4959 (Public Relations)
emory.epperson@quantum.com
or
Renee Budig, 408/894-5563 (Investor Relations)
renee.budig@quantum.com |
