ScanSoft Inc. Acquires Photo Imaging Products and Technology from MetaCreations.PEABODY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 1999-- Three Award-Winning Products and Leading Edge Photo Imaging Technology Strengthen ScanSoft's Presence in the Rapidly Growing Digital Photo Imaging Market ScanSoft Inc. (Nasdaq:SSFT SSFT Secure Socket File Transfer ), a leading provider of digital imaging and optical character recognition optical character recognition (OCR), method for the machine-reading of typeset, typed, and, in some cases, hand-printed letters, numbers, and symbols using optical sensing and a computer. (OCR OCR in full optical character recognition Scanning and comparison technique intended to identify printed text or numerical data. It avoids the need to retype already printed material for data entry. ) software, and MetaCreations Corp. (Nasdaq:MCRE MCRE Master Create (banking) MCRE Miscellaneous Capital Related Expense (business) MCRE McRoberts Commercial Real Estate (Des Moines, Iowa) ), the Creative Web company, today jointly announced that ScanSoft has acquired and licensed certain photo imaging software products and technology from MetaCreations. The specific products included in the agreement are Kai's Super GOO(TM), a top-selling liquid photo imaging application; Kai's Photo Soap(TM) 2, award-winning photo editing See photo editor. software that lets users enhance, edit and share photos via the Internet; and Kai's Power Show(TM) that allows users to create high-impact multimedia photo shows and business presentations. All three products are Microsoft(R) Windows and Apple(R) Macintosh(TM) compatible. Kristy Holch, principal of InfoTrends Research Group, said, "Our research shows that the most-used applications for scanning are image editing Changing or improving graphics images. It typically refers to bitmapped images rather than vector graphics drawings. Using an image editor, images can be modified by an artist using pen, brush, airbrush and other "painting" tools. and OCR. Image editing is also the leading application for digital camera users. This move by ScanSoft will give users a respected single source for imaging software." According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. InfoTrends Research Group, 10 million mass-market scanners and 1.8 million low-end digital cameras will ship this year in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . The scanner and digital camera markets are expected to grow at a compound annual grow rate of 23% and 38%, reaching 19.5 million and 6.8 million units respectively by 2003. "The combination of MetaCreations' well-regarded photo imaging products and technology, and ScanSoft's leadership in OCR and document imaging software gives us an unprecedented opportunity to provide the broadest range of digital imaging software to meet the needs of home, small and medium sized business and corporate markets," said Michael Tivnan, president and chief executive officer of ScanSoft. The acquisition is expected to generate new partnerships with leading vendors in the digital camera market while at the same time allow ScanSoft to add more value to their current partners' solutions for the desktop scanner market. The acquisition also adds premier digital imaging partners Apple, Eastman Kodak and Intel to ScanSoft's already impressive list of major OEMs. "This agreement supports MetaCreations' strategy to focus the company on delivering premier 2D and 3D professional graphics technologies, and its Internet business for e-commerce visualization.. This is another in a series of steps already undertaken to help the company capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. the e-commerce market opportunity. ScanSoft is an ideal company to acquire our photo imaging products, as they will transition smoothly into ScanSoft's well-established retail channel and strong OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and partnerships," said Gary Lauer, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of MetaCreations. ScanSoft expects the transaction to be neutral to slightly positive on total year 1999 earnings and accretive thereafter. The consideration includes $2.6 million in cash and a note, and up to $950,000 in assumed liabilities. The deal also includes contingent financial performance incentive payments to MetaCreations of up to $1 million. Customer support for the acquired products will continue to be handled by MetaCreations until Dec. 31, 1999. About ScanSoft Inc. ScanSoft Inc. is a leading developer of digital imaging and optical character recognition (OCR) software. The company's award-winning products allow consumer, SOHO Soho (sōhō`, sə–), district of Westminster, London, England, known for its continental restaurants. Once a fashionable quarter, it became popular among writers and artists in the 19th cent. and corporate users to leverage the power of their desktop scanners, digital cameras, and other electronic input devices, to accurately capture and turn paper documents and photos into digital files that can be easily edited, organized and sent through e-mail and the Internet. ScanSoft's family of digital imaging software includes Pagis Pro Scanning Suite, TextBridge Pro, PaperPort Deluxe, PaperPort Scanner Suite, and ScanWorks. Today, there are approximately 1.5 million registered users of ScanSoft software. ScanSoft has numerous strategic partnerships with the industry's leading scanner and multifunction peripheral vendors. Companies already using ScanSoft's cutting edge digital imaging technologies in their product offerings include Brother, Epson, Canon, Compaq, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Mustek, Visioneer (Primax), and Xerox, among others. Headquartered in Peabody, Mass., ScanSoft maintains a strong international presence with sales and marketing offices in Reading, England. ScanSoft products are available worldwide through distributor and retail partners. ScanSoft is publicly traded on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol SSFT. Its Web site is located at www.scansoft.com. About MetaCreations MetaCreations Corp., the Creative Web company, is focused on developing and marketing 2D and 3D visualization software for graphic artists, and the World Wide Web. MetaCreations' Creative Web strategy is centered on the company's MetaStream(TM) technology and employs an array of MetaCreations' software development tools to accelerate the creation of 2D and 3D graphics for online applications, and to make fast, interactive use of photorealistic Having the image quality of a photograph. 3D on the Web practical and pervasive. MetaCreations offers a complete product line of award-winning professional graphics desktop software products available in more than 50 countries. The company is headquartered in Santa Barbara County, Calif., and has development centers in Scotts Valley, Calif., and Princeton, N.J., as well as an International Operations Center in Dublin, Ireland. MetaCreations can be reached on the World Wide Web at http://www.metacreations.com. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements as to the perceived benefits of the agreement, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. " provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the market acceptance, the impact of competitive products, and other risks detailed from time to time in ScanSoft's SEC reports. ScanSoft disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Pagis, TextBridge, PaperPort, PaperPort Deluxe and Scanner Suite are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. (c) 1999 all rights reserved. |
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