CounterPath Makes Strategic Move into Mobile Enterprise Space with Acquisition of FirstHand Technologies
January 29 2008 - 9:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Launches integrated SIP and mobile technologies, further broadening
VoIP product portfolio VANCOUVER, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
CounterPath Corporation (OTCBB: COPA), a leading provider of
multimedia VoIP softphones and SIP applications, today announced
that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire
FirstHand Technologies Inc., an innovator in extending enterprise
telephony features to smart phones and dual-mode handheld devices
over WiFi and cellular networks. The acquisition will allow
CounterPath to combine its suite of softphone and server
applications with Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) solutions from
FirstHand to deliver an integrated communications experience and
empower workforces to go mobile. "Mobile VoIP technologies are in
high demand and the market is rapidly moving from trials to
deployments," said Greg Pelling, Chief Executive Officer of
CounterPath. "The acquisition of FirstHand allows us to extend our
carrier and enterprise client value proposition from the personal
computer to most major mobile devices. All of our tier one
fixed-line carrier customers own, operate or partner with a mobile
service provider in one form or another. Our new mobile software
products create tremendous opportunities for CounterPath to lever
our trusted supplier relationships and add even greater value to
our world class customers' VoIP offerings." FirstHand's solution
extends enterprise unified communications services to a wide range
of popular mobile devices such as RIM Blackberry, Nokia and
Microsoft Windows Mobile, delivered over any mobile network
including WiFi, GSM and CDMA. These smart phones and dual-mode
devices are effectively transformed into business communications
tools with fully featured PBX telephony services and productivity
enhancing collaborative services such as Instant Messaging,
Presence and Conferencing. Using FirstHand's technology, enterprise
customers can use their existing communications equipment and
infrastructure to take advantage of unified communications on their
mobile devices - today. "Upon completion of the acquisition of
FirstHand, CounterPath will not only enhance its product offering
but also strengthen its engineering team and broaden its
intellectual property portfolio," said Sir Terence H. Matthews,
Chairman of Wesley Clover and CounterPath. "This is a solid
acquisition for CounterPath and I believe that there will be a
wealth of new opportunities for the company in the large and
growing mobile space." Fiscal Details Related to the Acquisition
Under the terms of the agreement, CounterPath will acquire all of
the shares of FirstHand in exchange for 29,500,000 shares of
CounterPath's common stock. Upon closing, FirstHand will be debt
free and contribute approximately $6 million in cash to the
combined entities. FirstHand's investors, including Covington
Capital, Skypoint Capital Corporation and BDC Capital Inc. will
collectively own approximately 23% of the common shares of
CounterPath. The closing of the transaction contemplated by the
definitive agreement is subject to customary closing conditions and
is expected to close on or about February 1, 2008. The shares of
CounterPath's common stock to be issued in connection with the
proposed acquisition and investments have not been and will not be
registered under the Securities Act of 1933 as amended (the "Act"),
and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent
registration, or an applicable exemption from registration, under
the Act. About FirstHand Technologies FirstHand Technologies
mobilizes the enterprise by extending the functionality of numerous
IP PBXs to a variety of smart phones and dual-mode devices.
FirstHand Technologies empowers an enterprise's workforce to go
mobile with the same functionality as their office desktop. The
FirstHand Technologies advanced fixed-mobile convergence (FMC)
solution delivers enterprise features and "single number" seamless
connectivity over cellular networks and/or WiFi enabling
organizations to achieve "enterprise communications everywhere."
The enterprise benefits from faster communication abilities,
increased productivity and significant cost savings. FirstHand
Technologies, based in Ottawa, Ontario, has approximately 45
employees and has eleven patents pending or approved. For more
information, please visit http://www.firsthandtech.com/. About
CounterPath Since 2003, CounterPath Corporation (formerly
CounterPath Solutions, Inc.) has been creating value for its
clients with the development of innovative multimedia VoIP (Voice
over Internet Protocol) softphones and SIP (Session Initiation
Protocol) applications. CounterPath has a flexible, user friendly
and feature-rich product suite which enables its clients to
cost-effectively integrate or bundle voice, video, presence and
Instant Messaging applications into their VoIP solutions. The
Company's clients include some of the world's largest
telecommunications service providers and network equipment
providers including AT&T, BT (British Telecommunications PLC),
Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco Systems. Additional information about
CounterPath and its products and services is available at
http://www.counterpath.com/. Forward-Looking Statements This news
release contains "forward-looking statements". Statements in this
press release, which are not purely historical, are forward-looking
statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans,
expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such
forward-looking statements include, among others, the expectation
and/or claim, as applicable, that (i) CounterPath will complete the
acquisition of FirstHand, (ii) after completion of the acquisition,
the new expanded product line will provide greater opportunities
for CounterPath to capitalize on its customer acquisition efforts
to date, including tremendous opportunities to lever its trusted
supplier relationships, and (iii) after completion of the
acquisition, there will be a wealth of new opportunities for
CounterPath in the large and growing mobile space. It is important
to note that actual outcomes and CounterPath's actual results could
differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements.
Actual results could differ from those projected in any
forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors
include, among others: (1) the failure to complete the acquisition
of FirstHand for any reason whatsoever, (2) the failure to
successfully integrate the businesses and technologies of
CounterPath and FirstHand after completion of the acquisition, (3)
the failure to develop new and innovative products using
CounterPath's and FirstHand's technologies, (4) CounterPath's
ability to remain competitive as other parties develop and release
competitive products, (5) CounterPath's ability to retain the
employees necessary to continue research and development of current
and new products, (6) the success by CounterPath of the sales of
its current and new products, (7) the impact of competitive
products on the sales of CounterPath's products, (8) the impact of
technology changes on CounterPath's products and on the VoIP
industry, (9) the compatibility of CounterPath's products with new
computer operating systems, (10) the rate of adoption by service
providers and the general public of VoIP as a replacement for
regular and cellular phone service, (11) general economic
conditions as they affect CounterPath and its prospective
customers, (12) the ability of CounterPath to control costs
operating, general administrative and other expenses, and (13)
insufficient investor interest in CounterPath's securities which
may impact on CounterPath's ability to raise additional financing
as required. Readers should also refer to the risk disclosures
outlined in CounterPath's quarterly reports on Form 10-QSB, annual
reports on Form 10-KSB and CounterPath's other disclosure documents
filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission
available at http://www.sec.gov/. CONTACT: Media Contact: Sarah
Stover, Grey Vancouver PR, (604) 484-3274, ; Investor Contact: Gina
DeBoutez, The Blueshirt Group, (415) 489-2184, DATASOURCE:
CounterPath Corporation CONTACT: Media Contact: Sarah Stover, Grey
Vancouver PR, (604) 484-3274, ; Investor Contact: Gina DeBoutez,
The Blueshirt Group, (415) 489-2184,
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