To: I Am John Galt who wrote (6452 ) 5/4/1998 2:42:00 PM From: Felix Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 18444
DCLK News: HOUSTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Enhanced Services Co. Inc. and Zulu-tek Inc. (BB:NETZ) said Monday that their boards had agreed to continue to pursue a business combination of the two companies but remained sketchy on many details. Zulu-tek took over Softbank Interactive Marketing, the Internet advertising network, in January, the same month it changed its name from NetMaster. In a statement issued Monday, Enhanced Services said the resulting entity will be a single enterprise that will pursue a coordinated, vertically integrated business plan focused principally on Internet advertising, electronic commerce, technology development and laptop sales via the Internet. Management of Enhanced and Zulu-tek are now developing the precise structure of the stages for the transaction, which is expected to be implemented later this year, they said. Softbank Interactive Marketing has been considered a leading supplier of Internet advertising for a host of top-name corporations and Web sites. The company was seen as a major rival of DoubleClick Inc. (NASDAQ:DCLK). But the company has undergone an executive exodus since the fall, when Softbank (TOKYO:9984), the Japanese software and media giant, put the company up for sale, and has maintained a significantly lower profile since Zulu-tek acquired it. "We've been purposely very quiet," Heather Midgley, an outside spokeswoman for Zulu-tek, told Reuters Monday. But she declined to offer details on the company's business plans or how the integration of Zulu-tek and Softbank was going. Houston-based Enhanced Services describes itself as providing technical services for portable computer users, including repair and maintenance. It also sells enhancement accessories for portable computers and provides computer multimedia development services. In anticipation of the combination, Enhanced reported that it may make additional investments in Zulu-tek and is pursuing a private placement to fund a combined business strategy. On March 9, Zulu-tek announced that Enhanced had made an investment of undisclosed size in Zulu-tek and that it expected to begin a $50 million private placement of convertible preferred shares to begin in mid-March. Midgley said Monday the two companies were still pursuing private placement backers. The combination of the two companies is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval and compliance with Nasdaq rules, they said. Enhanced Services' stock was down 3/4 to 6-5/8 on small volume in trading Monday on the Nasdaq, while Zulu-tek's stock had gained 1 cent to 53 cents in early afternoon-trading Monday on the over-the-counter bulletin board. Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service Companies or Securities discussed in this article: Symbol Name NASDAQ:ESVS BB:NETZ Netmaster Group Inc NASDAQ:DCLK TOKYO:9984 Soft Bank Corp.