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Press Release |
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VeriSign Acquires Retail Solutions, Inc.
Leading Point-of-Sale Data Platform Expands Infrastructure Capabilities
and Customer Base in the Retail Supply Chain
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA., October 26, 2005 - VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq:
VRSN), the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for
the Internet and telecommunications networks, today announced the acquisition
of Retail Solutions, Inc. (RSI), a leading provider of operational point-of-sale
(POS) data to the retail industry.
The addition of
RSI’s customers and core technology to VeriSign’s Intelligent Supply
Chain Services platform extends the growing role VeriSign’s scalable,
secure infrastructure is playing in the $8 trillion worldwide supply
chain. Operational POS data provides detailed information about
the volume and value of product sales through retailers, and is increasingly
being combined with other “demand data” and new technologies such as
RFID to increase sales and reduce costs, benefiting both retailers and
their suppliers. In conjunction with the acquisition of RSI, VeriSign
also announced today, (http://www.verisign.com/wwre)
an agreement with the World Wide Retail Exchange (WWRE) to deliver POS
services through WWRE’s global platform, enhancing store-level visibility
to thousands of retailers and suppliers worldwide.
RSI counts more
than 130 industry leaders as customers, including Unilever and GlaxoSmithKline.
The RSI platform provides these customers with a secure, single point
of access to POS data from over 30 key retailers. The addition
of this capability to the existing VeriSign Intelligent Supply Chain
Services platform increases the scope of services VeriSign offers to
retail supply chain participants and enhances the infrastructure VeriSign
has been developing in the RFID/EPC and pharmaceutical supply chain
markets to deliver real time, relevant data for decision making.
“VeriSign is increasingly
working to leverage its strengths – secure, scalable infrastructure
- to provide value to customers and partners in the supply chain,” said
Ann Grackin, chief executive officer of ChainLink Research. “With the
addition of POS data services, VeriSign has taken a big step forward
in this area. Both end users and solutions providers in the retail space
can now leverage the VeriSign platform for streamlined access to critical
information that today must be gathered from many different sources
and in many different formats.”
“RSI is a great
addition to VeriSign’s critical infrastructure in the global supply
chain,” said Mark McLaughlin, senior vice president of VeriSign’s Information
Services “The retail industry is increasingly looking for new avenues
of visibility from manufacturing plant to store floor, and demand data
– including POS information – is a critical component. With the
addition of RSI, we add over one hundred customers and billions of streamed
data records to our platform.”
RSI has approximately
50 full-time employees and offices in Lincoln, Rhode Island.
The price of the
acquisition was approximately $24 million in cash and it is being accounted
for as a purchase transaction.
To learn more about VeriSign Intelligent Supply Chain Services and
solutions for retailers and consumer products manufacturers, visit http://www.verisign.com/supplychain.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), operates intelligent infrastructure
services that enable and protect billions of interactions every day
across the world’s voice and data networks. Additional news and information
about the company is available at www.VeriSign.co.uk./
About RSI
Retail Solutions International, Inc., (dba Retail Solutions,
Inc.) is a leading provider of demand data management tools and services
for retailers and consumer goods companies seeking to maximize their
profitability and efficiency. Using its proprietary database technology,
Retail Solutions quickly delivers accurate point-of-sale data, along
with the expert analysis and consulting needed to make business decisions.
For more information, contact:
VeriSign Media Relations:
Patrick Burns, mailto:pburns@verisign.com,
703-948-4471
VeriSign Investor
Relations: Tom McCallum, mailto:tmccallum@verisign.com,
650-426-3744
Statements in this
announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results
to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking
statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others,
the uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations
in quarterly operating results due to such factors as the inability
of VeriSign to successfully market the combined companies' services
and customer acceptance of the combined companies' services; the risk
that the expected synergies resulting from the combination will not
materialize; the incurrence of unexpected costs integrating the businesses;
increased competition and pricing pressures; and the inability of VeriSign
to successfully develop and market new products and services and customer
acceptance of any new products or services. More information about
potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial
results is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2004 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking
statements after the date of this press release.
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