Friday December 5, 4:29 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
GT Interactive And MicroProse Agree To End Merger
Plan, But Will Work Together On Marketing, Distribution
Initiatives
NEW YORK, NY/ALAMEDA, CA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--December 5, 1997-- MicroProse,
Inc. (NASDAQ: MPRS - news) and GT Interactive Software Corp. (NASDAQ: GTIS - news)
today announced that both companies' boards of directors have unanimously and mutually agreed to
terminate the definitive merger agreement which was announced on October 5. The two companies
will continue to work together on a number of marketing and distribution initiatives. Because the
agreement to terminate the merger is mutual, there will be no breakup fees to either company.
According to both Ron Chaimowitz, president and chief executive officer of GT Interactive, and
Stephen M. Race, MicroProse's chief executive officer: ''Both managements agreed that the time
simply is not right for combining the two businesses. Nevertheless, there are important areas in which
we can work together. For example, GT Interactive will continue distribution of MicroProse
products in certain major mass market chains in the U.S. as well as that of Macintosh versions of
MicroProse products, under prior agreements. GT also holds PC budget rights to the MicroProse
back catalog.''
''While our acquisition of MicroProse will not be completed, through both increased investment in
our internal development studios and acquisitions of new development studios, we will continue to
focus on the expansion of our publishing business, which accounts for more than 60 percent of our
total revenues,'' said Ron Chaimowitz, president and chief executive officer of GT Interactive. ''We
believe that this successful ongoing strategy will further strengthen our global leadership position in
interactive entertainment.''
Headquartered in NY, GT Interactive is a leading global publisher of entertainment and edutainment
software under the GT Interactive, Humongous Entertainment, Cavedog Entertainment, SingleTrac
and MacSoft brands for personal computers as well as video game systems from Sony, Nintendo
and Sega. GT Interactive operates development studios in Seattle, Salt Lake City and San Luis
Obispo, CA. The company is also a leader in value-priced software under the WizardWorks,
GameWizards and Slash brands.
MicroProse is a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for use on
CD-ROM-based personal computers. The company is also developing software for use on Internet
and online gaming services. MicroProse has its headquarters in Alameda, California and employs
approximately 400 people worldwide. Its five development studios are located in Alameda,
California; Hunt Valley, Maryland; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; and Chipping
Sudbury, England. Products are available worldwide and are sold through major distributors,
retailers and mass merchants. MicroProse is located at microprose.com on the World
Wide Web.
Certain statements contained in this press release may be deemed forward-looking statements that
involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The company's actual results may differ materially from
the expectations expressed in such forward- looking statements. Among the factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially are worldwide business and industry conditions, including consumer
buying and retailer ordering patterns, product delays, company customer relations, retail acceptance
of the company's published and third-party titles, competitive conditions, failure to consummate the
announced merger agreement with MicroProse or failure to successfully integrate the operations of
the two companies if the merger is consummated, and other risks detailed, from time to time, in the
company's and MicroProse's SEC filings, including, but not limited to, the company's Form 10-K for
the year ended March 31, 1996, and MicroProse's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30,
1997.
Contact:
GT INTERACTIVE MICROPROSE
Investors: Dawn Berrie Investors: Howard Kalt
212/726-4235 KALT, ROSEN & ASSOC.
Media: Allyne Mills 415/397-2686
212/726-4202 Media: Kathy Sanguinetti
510/864-4474 |
