LION Acquires Assets of Ignition Mortgage Technology Solutions, Inc.
December 09 2003 - 4:43PM
PR Newswire (US)
LION Acquires Assets of Ignition Mortgage Technology Solutions,
Inc. Acquisition to Increase Revenue and Accelerate Future Growth
SEATTLE, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LION, Inc. (BULLETIN
BOARD: LINN) , a leader in online services that connect mortgage
brokers with consumers and lenders, today announced that it has
purchased certain assets of Ignition Mortgage Technology Solutions,
Inc. ("Ignition"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Freddie Mac . LION
is a public company not affiliated with Freddie Mac. Under the
terms of the transaction, LION acquired certain assets of Ignition
including Loan Finder, Lock Point Xtra(R), Loan Officer Plus(R),
and Pipeline Tools software products, Ignition's rights under
certain contracts and accounts receivable. Lockpoint Xtra(R) is an
electronic rate lock system for secondary market application that
provides real-time feature-adjusted loan-by-loan price quotes, and
enables conduits to take direct electronic rate locks from
correspondent lenders. Pipeline Tools manages interest rate and
loan pool fall-out risk. The purchase will accelerate critical
elements of LION's strategy to provide a comprehensive set of
solutions to meet the needs of the mortgage industry. The
acquisition will enable the Company to expand its product offering
and its ability to target both small and large mortgage
originators. Following the acquisition, LION expects to offer a
turnkey solution that will constitute one of the most complete and
comprehensive origination and management systems available in the
market. "This acquisition represents a tremendous opportunity for
the Company," stated LION's President, David Stedman. "The
integration of Ignition's technology into the LION suite of
products will not only allow the Company to offer new high-end
products to its existing customers, but will also allow the Company
to expand into new and potentially more lucrative markets." In
conjunction with the acquisition, LION is restructuring its
operations and has named a new management team to lead the Company.
Randall Miles has been named Chairman and CEO of LION, and Tim
Newberry, former Vice President of Ignition, will share expanded
presidential duties with David Stedman, the current President of
LION. Jack McMillan, former Chairman of LION, will remain an active
member of the Board. Randall Miles has been a LION board member for
the past year and has 25 years experience in investment banking and
executive management with a focus on financial services and
technology companies. Tim Newberry has extensive product
development experience, key customer and management expertise and
industry knowledge. Dave Stedman will redirect his responsibilities
to address sales and marketing strategies for the Company. Mssrs.
Miles, Newberry and Stedman will combine their talents to
collectively set the strategic direction of the Company. "As the
mortgage marketplace contracts, industry professionals will
aggressively seek strategies to lower the cost of acquiring,
fulfilling and delivering loans," observed Randall Miles, the new
Chairman and CEO of LION. "With this acquisition, LION will not
only strengthen its ability to service new demand, it will also
deliver additional value to its existing customer base, increasing
its ability to expand revenue. I am very optimistic about the
future implications of this acquisition. It represents an important
step in LION's continuing commitment to supporting revenue growth
and sustained profitability, leading to enhanced shareholder value.
The transaction is expected to be accretive to 2004 earnings and
was accomplished without encumbering the Company's balance sheet.
This is an exciting time for LION. It signals a new era for the
Company and represents an opportunity to expand both the depth and
breadth of its product offerings." About LION, Inc. LION, Inc. is a
leader in online services that connect mortgage brokers with
lenders and consumers more efficiently. The Company serves mortgage
originators with online loan productivity tools and websites
powered by a database of over 100,000 regionalized wholesale and
correspondent loan programs nationwide. LION also provides the
foundational architecture and database for co-branded and private
label web sites that connect consumers to leading companies in the
over $2 trillion mortgage industry. LION, Inc. has offices in two
locations: Seattle, at 4700-42nd Ave. SW, Seattle, WA 98116, and
Denver, at 2000 S Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO, 80222. For more
information, please visit http://www.lioninc.com/. This press
release contains forward-looking statements concerning the
integration of the software products and other assets acquired from
Ignition into our product suite and our future financial and
operating results. These statements are based on management's
current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
Statements of expected synergies, accretion, and integration plans
resulting from the acquisition are all forward-looking statements.
We believe that the potential risks and uncertainties include,
without limitation: the possibility that the market for the
software products acquired from Ignition may not develop as
expected; that further development of these products may not
proceed as planned; that LION is unable to successfully execute its
integration strategy or achieve planned synergies with respect to
the acquired software and other assets; our substantial dependence
on mortgage brokers and the mortgage broker industry; mortgage
market trends; interest rate changes; housing and consumer trends
effecting home purchases; the management of our potential growth;
risks of new business areas and new Internet technology;
joint-marketing and sales agreements; our need for additional
financing; our ability to attract and retain high quality
employees; changes in the overall economy and in technology; and
the number and size of our Internet competitors. Statements in this
release should be evaluated in light of these important factors.
All information set forth in this release is as of December 9,
2003, and LION undertakes no duty to update this information. More
information about these and other important factors that could
affect our business and financial results is included in our
Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the quarterly period ended
September 30, 2003, including (without limitation) under the
captions, "Business Risks" and "Management's Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," which
is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and
available at http://www.sec.gov/. DATASOURCE: LION, Inc. CONTACT:
Dave Stedman, President of LION, Inc., +1-800-546-6463 Web site:
http://www.lioninc.com/
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