euro909.com Acquires Controlling Interest in Danish Firm WISEhouse in a Move to Expand its Digital Security Product Line
COPENHAGEN, Denmark–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 29, 2001–
WISEhouse Offsite Backup Service to be Marketed to Virus112
and EuroTrust Customers
euro909.com A/S (Nasdaq ADS: ENON) Wednesday announced it has acquired 85 percent of the Danish security firm WISEhouse Denmark A/S, a remote data backup and storage service provider, for 25 million DKK (U.S. $3.0 million) — 10 million DKK in cash (U.S. $1.2 million) to the previous shareholders and an additional 15 million DKK (U.S. $1.8 million) towards WISEhouse’s working capital.
Simultaneously, Medani A/S, the investment arm of Arla Foods (www.arlafoods.com), Europe’s largest dairy group, took a 15 percent minority stake in WISEhouse by also contributing 5 million DKK (U.S. $0.6 million) towards WISEhouse’s working capital.
More than 300 European businesses currently rely on WISEhouse (www.WISEhouse.com) to protect mission-critical information found on their corporate servers. WISEhouse monitors and stores customer data at secure offsite facilities to safeguard digital assets against the threat of fire, hardware failure, natural disasters, theft, or viruses.
“Adding WISEhouse to euro909.com’s portfolio of security offerings strengthens our core business and allows us to offer 24/7, fail-safe data protection to our Virus112 and EuroTrust customers,” said Brian Mertz Pedersen, Virus112 founder and EuroTrust managing director. Virus112 and EuroTrust are both subsidiaries of euro909.com.
“Since more and more businesses are dependent on information,” Pedersen continued, “the value of our security product suite is increasingly apparent and will enable us to develop a $2,000 Virus112 customer into becoming a $25,000 customer of combined Virus112, EuroTrust PKI-products and WISEhouse services.”
WISEhouse’s 15 employees will remain at the company’s Aarhus, Denmark headquarters, while all technical equipment will be moved to euro909.com’s data center in Copenhagen.
WISEhouse’s data backup technology is based on IBM’s Tivoli Storage Manager and utilizes software and hardware components from Cisco Systems, Sun, and Siemens.
Customer data is encrypted and transmitted (via phone or Internet connection) to WISEhouse’s central servers, where data is then archived and mirrored across two separate server locations, as well as stored on tape at a third secure location.
WISEhouse owns 45,000 new, prepaid software licenses from IBM Tivoli that are available for customer use without further expense. As all licensing fees were based on year 2000 pricing, WISEhouse has an advantage over competitors that pay today’s rate for Tivoli licenses, which have risen significantly. IBM Tivoli will deliver the most current version of each license to WISEhouse as they are needed.
Joining the WISEhouse board of directors is Brian Mertz Pedersen of EuroTrust; Karoly Nemeth of euro909.com; Mogens Moller of Arla Foods; Svend Dam, formerly of Jyllandsposten, Denmark’s largest newspaper; and Birger Hauge of Brandts Ventures.
About euro909.com
Formed in 1986, euro909.com is the largest affiliate of VeriSign Inc. worldwide and the leading provider of trusted PKI-infrastructure services to Web sites, enterprises, electronic commerce service providers and individuals throughout Europe.
euro909.com’s digital security offerings are managed by its wholly owned subsidiary EuroTrust A/S. EuroTrust’s services are available through its Web site (www.eurotrust.dk), direct sales force, and reseller partners in Europe.
euro909.com operates in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy, and also owns several broadcast, print and online media properties in Scandinavia. More information about euro909.com and its subsidiaries is available at http://www.euro909.com/about.html.
Except for historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that are dependent on risks and uncertainties including such factors, among others, as the pace at which new markets develop, the impact of competition and the company’s ability to implement timely responses to market conditions.
Further information on euro909.com is contained in publicly filed disclosures available through the SEC’s Public Reference Branch or from the company’s Investor Relations Department.