Liberate Announces Agreement for Sale of North American Business to Double C Technologies, A Joint Venture of Comcast and Cox
10 Januar 2005 - 3:01PM
PR Newswire (US)
Liberate Announces Agreement for Sale of North American Business to
Double C Technologies, A Joint Venture of Comcast and Cox Expected
Proceeds Approximately $82 Million SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 10
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Liberate Technologies (Pink Sheets:
LBRT), a leading provider of software for digital cable systems,
today announced it had reached agreement to sell substantially all
of the assets of its North American business to Double C
Technologies, LLC, a joint venture majority owned and controlled by
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSANASDAQ:CMCSK) with a minority
investment by Cox Communications, Inc. Under the terms of the
agreement, the joint venture will receive substantially all of the
assets, including patents and other intellectual property, and will
assume certain limited liabilities related to Liberate's North
American business. Liberate will receive cash consideration of
approximately $82 million. The parties will cross-license
technology and intellectual property to one another following the
closing for purposes of the continued conduct of their respective
businesses. Liberate is developing a software platform which is
intended to provide cable operators with a flexible platform to add
new digital cable products and applications. This platform will
become increasingly important as digital cable products continue to
evolve and interactive features become more widespread. "Comcast
believes strongly in the future of interactive television and the
need for customers to have TV on their terms. This acquisition,
along with our earlier investment in Guideworks and our innovative
video on demand platform, will enable Comcast to move faster toward
creating a more interactive television experience," said Steve
Silva, Comcast Executive Vice President, New Business Development.
"Purchasing Liberate's North American assets will give us greater
control over the software platform that will help drive new
features that distinguish us from other providers as well as
position us to be able to deliver new services that will be enabled
by OCAP compliant software in the future." "The purchase by
industry leaders Comcast and Cox of our North American business
demonstrates the strategic importance of the technology we have
designed and built," stated David Lockwood, Chairman and CEO of
Liberate Technologies. "Over the past two years, our management
team has successfully restructured our operations and resolved a
number of liabilities. This transaction is a strong validation of
our work to deliver value to shareholders." As part of the
transaction, the joint venture will make employment offers to
approximately 130 employees, primarily located in London, Ontario,
Canada. Liberate will retain its European business and will
continue to service its European customers. In addition,
concurrently with the effectiveness of the acquisition agreement,
David Lockwood, the Chairman and CEO of Liberate Technologies, is
entering into a voting agreement with the joint venture, under
which he is agreeing to vote all shares of Liberate stock
beneficially owned by him, comprising approximately 12% of the
total outstanding shares of Liberate, in favor of the transaction.
The agreement will not become effective until the dismissal of
Liberate's bankruptcy appeal, which Liberate has agreed to actively
pursue. To that end, today Liberate is filing a motion in the U.S.
District Court for Northern California to dismiss the appeal of its
bankruptcy case dismissal. The agreement is also subject to
Liberate shareholder approval, Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust
approval, and other customary closing conditions. Conference Call
Liberate has scheduled a conference call at 2 p.m. Pacific time
January 10 to discuss its second quarter fiscal 2005 financial
results. The call-in number is 888-882-0142. A replay of the call
will be available until January 17 on either 402-977-9140 or
800-633-8284, reservation code 21226844. The conference call can
also be accessed via live webcast at Liberate's website
(http://www.liberate.com/) and will remain available for replay.
About Liberate Technologies Liberate Technologies is a leading
provider of software for digital cable systems. Based on industry
standards, Liberate's software enables cable operators to run
multiple services -- including high-definition television, video on
demand, and personal video recorders -- on multiple platforms.
Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Liberate has offices in
Ontario, Canada, and the United Kingdom. NOTE: Liberate and the
Liberate design are registered trademarks of Liberate Technologies.
Other product names used in association with these registered
trademarks are trademarks of Liberate Technologies. About Comcast
Corporation Comcast Corporation (http://www.comcast.com/) is the
nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and
communications products and services. With 21.5 million cable
customers and more than 6.5 million high-speed Internet customers,
Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and
operation of broadband cable networks and in the delivery of
programming content. The Company's content businesses include:
Comcast SportsNet, E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The
Golf Channel, Outdoor Life Network, G4techTV and International
Channel Networks as well as a minority investment in TV One. The
Company also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose
major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the
Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose
arenas in Philadelphia. About Cox Communications, Inc. Cox is a
multi-service broadband communications company with approximately
6.6 million total customers, including approximately 6.3 million
basic cable subscribers. The nation's third-largest cable
television provider measured by basic subscribers, Cox offers both
analog cable television under the Cox Cable brand as well as
advanced digital video service under the Cox Digital Cable brand.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 Those statements above that involve expectations
or intentions (such as those related to expectations concerning the
granting of the motion to dismiss the bankruptcy appeal or the
closing of the transactions contemplated by the announced
agreement) are forward-looking statements, within the meaning of
the U.S. securities laws, that involve risks and uncertainties and
are not guarantees of future performance. You are cautioned that
these statements are only predictions, and that forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks, assumptions and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those projected in such forward-looking statements. These
risks, assumptions and uncertainties include, but are not limited
to: future decisions by the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of California (including with respect to dismissal of the
appeal of Liberate's bankruptcy dismissal), the SEC or other
governmental or regulatory bodies; the vote of Liberate's
stockholders; business disruption resulting from the announcement
of the asset sale; uncertainties related to litigation; economic
and political conditions in the U.S. and abroad; and other risks
outlined in Liberate's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the annual report on Form 10-K for the year
ended May 31, 2004. All forward- looking statements are only as of
the date they are made and Liberate disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
THIS PRESS RELEASE IS BEING FILED PURSUANT TO RULE 14A-12 UNDER THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934. LIBERATE WILL FILE A PROXY
STATEMENT AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS CONCERNING THE PROPOSED
TRANSACTION WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION. INVESTORS
ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND
ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC BECAUSE THEY WILL
CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. YOU WILL
BE ABLE TO OBTAIN THE DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC FREE OF CHARGE
AT THE WEB SITE MAINTAINED BY THE SEC AT WWW.SEC.GOV. IN ADDITION,
YOU MAY OBTAIN DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC BY LIBERATE FREE OF
CHARGE BY REQUESTING THEM IN WRITING FROM LIBERATE, 2655 CAMPUS
DRIVE, SUITE 250, SAN MATEO, CA 04403, ATTENTION: INVESTOR
RELATIONS, OR BY TELEPHONE AT 650-645-4000. LIBERATE AND ITS
DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS MAY BE DEEMED TO BE PARTICIPANTS
IN THE SOLICITATION OF PROXIES FROM LIBERATE'S STOCKHOLDERS. A LIST
OF THE NAMES OF THOSE DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND
DESCRIPTIONS OF THEIR INTERESTS IN LIBERATE IS CONTAINED IN
LIBERATE'S PROXY STATEMENT DATED SEPTEMBER 13, 2004, WHICH IS FILED
WITH THE SEC. STOCKHOLDERS MAY OBTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT
THE INTERESTS OF THE DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS IN THIS
TRANSACTION BY READING THE PROXY STATEMENT WHEN IT BECOMES
AVAILABLE. Contact: Greg Wood, Chief Financial Officer,
+1-650-645-4003, or , or Patrick Nguyen, EVP Corporate Development,
+1-650-645-4004, or , both of Liberate Technologies; or Tim
Fitzpatrick, Corporate Communications of Comcast Corporation,
+1-215-981-8515, or ; or David Grabert, Director of Media Relations
of Cox Communications, +1-404-269-7054, or . DATASOURCE: Liberate
Technologies CONTACT: Greg Wood, Chief Financial Officer,
+1-650-645-4003, or , or Patrick Nguyen, EVP Corporate Development,
+1-650-645-4004, or , both of Liberate Technologies; or Tim
Fitzpatrick, Corporate Communications of Comcast Corporation,
+1-215-981-8515, or ; or David Grabert, Director of Media Relations
of Cox Communications, +1-404-269-7054, or Web site:
http://www.comcast.com/ Web site: http://www.liberate.com/
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