Wave Receives $3.25 Million in License Fees From European Joint Venture Partner
BUSINESS WIRE
June 8, 1998--[ÿWave Systems Corp.ÿ]
(OTC BB: WAVX; wave.com today announced that it has received the remaining $3.25 million license fee payment from UK-based Internet Technology Group plc (ITG) pursuant to Wave and ITG's July 1997 agreement to form the GlobalWave joint venture. As consideration for Wave's licensing proprietary electronic commerce technology and systems to the GlobalWave joint venture, ITG agreed to pay $5 million in license fees to Wave, contingent on the achievement of certain milestones. Wave has previously received $1.75 million in license fees from ITG. Under the agreement, having completed the final license payment, ITG is entitled to receive a warrant to purchase one million shares of Wave Systems' Common Stock.
Recent progress and developments in support of Wave's unique distribution and commerce system from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), components manufacturers and content partners have satisfied these milestones and prompted ITG to make the final payment. Recent developments include an agreement with [ÿHauppauge Digital, Inc.ÿ]
(Nasdaq: HAUP) to include Wave's WaveMeter technology on selected models of Hauppauge Digital's WinTV(R) television tuner boards and a license agreement with [ÿStandard Microsystems Corporationÿ] (Nasdaq: SMSC) enabling SMSC to incorporate WaveMeter technology into a variety of SMSC's integrated circuit products, including input/output (I/O) integrated circuits, a fundamental component of personal computers. The SMSC relationship promotes the adoption of the WaveMeter technology by facilitating its incorporation into a ubiquitous PC component and simultaneously reducing the per- unit cost by a large margin.
Laurence Blackall, Chief Executive Officer of ITG commented, "We are very pleased with our joint venture partner's progress and growing base of OEM and content support. They have developed impressive momentum in the marketplace which solidly supports our GlobalWave joint venture. GlobalWave enables ITG to exploit a whole new set of technologies surrounding the Internet. With satellite delivery, ADSL technology and cable modems all enabling the transmission of high value multimedia content over the Internet, all that was missing was an easy-to-use method to conduct secure transactions at the desktop. The WaveMeter solves that problem, adds new marketing and transaction options such as rental and rent-to-own, and provides ITG with an important new revenue opportunity from content distribution. Now with an I/O chip implementation, it has never been easier for OEMs to deploy this unique service."
Steven Sprague, President of Wave, commented, "ITG was early to recognize and support the power and value of Wave's approach to electronic commerce and software distribution. They are an ideal marketing and joint venture partner, and we look forward to building substantial value in the GlobalWave joint venture, in which we own a 25% interest, through the roll-out of the Wave System in Europe." About ITG: ITG, through its subsidiaries, Global Internet and GX Networks, is one of the UK's leading Internet service providers, providing quality Internet connections to both consumers and businesses. Global Internet, with over 75,000 subscribers, is one of the UK's fastest growing ISPs. About GlobalWave: GlobalWave, a subsidiary of ITG, was set up to establish distribution channels for digital media throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. GlobalWave, which has exclusive rights to aggregate WaveEnabled content in these territories, will work with leading media, software and information groups to distribute such content via the Internet, CD-ROM, satellite and other broadband channels. About Wave Systems: Wave Systems Corp., formed in 1988 by Peter Sprague, former Chairman of [ÿNational Semiconductorÿ] , has developed a unique distributed information metering and transaction processing service, called the Wave System, for use in the sale and distribution of a wide range of electronic content for consumer entertainment and education applications. The Wave System gives content providers security and flexible transaction models and consumers the convenience and control of obtaining content via the Internet through Wave's Great Stuff Network (http://www.great-stuff.com), and planned CD- ROM and broadband delivery channels. For more information, please visit Wave's corporate web site at wave.com. Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements: Except for the statements of historical fact, the information presented herein constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include general economic and business conditions, the ability to fund operations, the loss of market share, changes in consumer buying habits and other factors over which Wave Systems Corp. has little or no control.
(Copyright 1998)
_____via IntellX_____
|
