Blue Coat to Acquire Antivirus Appliance Provider Ositis
Wednesday October 29, 6:00 am ET
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Blue Coat(TM) Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCSI) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ositis® Software, Inc., a provider of integrated email and Web antivirus appliances, for $1.0 million in cash and 363,125 shares of Blue Coat stock. Based on the closing price of Blue Coat stock on October 28, 2003, the total value of the acquisition would be approximately $7.1 million. The closing of the acquisition is subject to customary conditions, and is expected to occur on or about November 7, 2003.
The acquisition will add Ositis’ eShield email and Web antivirus appliance to Blue Coat’s industry-leading product portfolio. With the addition of email antivirus support, Blue Coat will provide complete control for all enterprise Internet communications, including corporate email (SMTP), remote email access (POP3, IMAP), Web-based personal email (HTTP), instant messaging (IM), Web browsing (HTTP/HTTPS), Internet file transfers and downloads (FTP) and other Internet applications such as peer-to-peer (P2P) and multimedia streaming.
Ositis is the world’s third-largest provider of antivirus appliances, which is the fastest growing segment of the overall antivirus market (IDC). According to market research firm IDC, the $26 million market is projected to grow to nearly $466 million by 2007, representing a compound annual growth rate of 78 percent.
“We are excited to be expanding our industry-leading proxy platform with controls for email antivirus,” said Brian NeSmith, president and CEO of Blue Coat. “The combination of the Ositis eShield appliance with Blue Coat’s ProxySG will provide customers with enterprise-class solutions for controlling all email and Web communications over the Internet.”
Blue Coat will continue to offer customers choice in implementing a multi- vendor antivirus defense. In addition to Blue Coat’s current antivirus partners, Ositis has a wide selection of on-box antivirus technology partners, including McAfee, Trend Micro, Sophos and Panda Software. This added flexibility enables customers to support a layered antivirus approach where different vendors may be deployed at the gateway, server and desktop.
“Joining Blue Coat’s winning team is an exceptional step forward in providing customers with the most cost-effective solutions for controlling Internet communications,” said Vilis Ositis, founder and CEO of Ositis Software.
In addition to the eShield antivirus appliance, Ositis is also a provider of the WinProxy® Internet sharing and proxy software, which is used by more than 300,000 users worldwide.
Wedbush Morgan Securities acted as the exclusive financial advisor for Ositis Software on this transaction.
Conference Call & Webcast
Blue Coat will host a conference call to discuss this transaction today at 9:00 a.m. ET (6:00 a.m. PT). A live Webcast of the call can be accessed at: http://www.bluecoat.com/aboutus/investor_relations. The live conference can be accessed by calling 800-967-7187 (toll-free) or 719-457-2635 (toll call) with the passcode: 627980. A playback of the call will be available until midnight Oct. 31, 2003, and can be accessed by calling 888-203-1112 (toll-free) or 719- 457-0820 (toll call), pass code: 627980.
About Blue Coat Systems
Blue Coat Systems provides secure proxy appliances that control user communications over the Internet. Blue Coat ProxySG appliances integrate advanced proxy functionality with security services such as content filtering, instant messaging control and Web virus scanning — without impacting network performance. With more than 3,000 customers and over 14,000 appliances shipped worldwide, Blue Coat is trusted by many of the world’s most influential organizations to ensure a safe and productive Internet environment. Blue Coat is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and can be reached at (408) 220-2200 or www.bluecoat.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the integration of Blue Coat and Ositis and the combined companies’ ability to deliver various products and services, and the growth in the market for the products offered by Blue Coat and Ositis, and statements regarding Blue Coat Systems’ expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based upon information available to Blue Coat Systems as of the date hereof, and Blue Coat Systems assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These and other risks relating to Blue Coat Systems’ business are set forth in Blue Coat Systems’ most recently filed Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2003, and other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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