REDWOOD SHORES, CA–(Marketwired – Feb 12, 2014) – iPass Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAS) today announced that the company will explore strategic alternatives for its Unity Network Services business in response to an unsolicited indication of interest in acquiring the business unit. iPass’ core Open Mobile business is growing aggressively and the Company has determined it can best serve shareholder interests by focusing exclusively on its OM business. Consequently, iPass has decided that it is logical to explore a potential sale or other strategic alternatives for the Unity business at this time. iPass Unity is focused on delivering and managing high speed Wi-Fi and WAN managed network solutions to customers in retail, financial services, healthcare and other industries.
Over the last several years, iPass has increasingly transitioned away from its legacy business and towards its growing Open Mobile business. The Open Mobile platform is now iPass’ largest revenue generator and is the principal growth driver of the company. iPass’ Open Mobile platform, with its two million plus Wi-Fi hotspots, provides enterprises and service providers a market leading connectivity service targeted at global travelers. In conjunction with iPass’ transition in focus toward the Open Mobile platform, the Unity business has maintained profitability and achieved growth. iPass’ management team continues to believe that there are significant growth opportunities for its Unity segment in the growing managed network services market, and is committed to seeing the business achieve its full potential, either as part of iPass or under new ownership.
“We feel very positive about Unity’s long-term prospects and are proud of the momentum in the business,” said Evan Kaplan, President and CEO of iPass. “As we continue to deliver growth with Open Mobile, we are constantly evaluating our corporate strategy, portfolio of assets and resource allocation to help ensure that we are maximizing long-term value creation. This process gives us the opportunity to determine the best path forward for iPass, our shareholders and our Unity business, including its customers and partners.”
iPass has established a committee of the Board of Directors to oversee the process. The company has retained Blackstone Advisory Partners L.P. to provide financial advisory services in connection with the comprehensive evaluation of the strategic alternatives for Unity.
There can be no assurance that the process being undertaken by iPass will result in the consummation of any transaction. No decision to sell Unity has been made and iPass may ultimately conclude that it will not sell the business. After completion of the conference call referenced below, iPass does not intend to comment further regarding the process being undertaken until such time that it deems disclosure appropriate.
Today’s Conference Call and Webcast Information
In connection with the release of its Q4 and year end 2013 financial results, iPass will host a live conference call today at 2:00 PM Pacific Time (5:00 PM Eastern Time). The conference call will be accessible by telephone, toll-free at 888-359-3627 or direct dial at 719-457-2727 with a participant confirmation code of 3679590. The conference call will also be available live via webcast on the company’s web site at http://investor.ipass.com. The webcast will be available for replay until iPass reports its first quarter 2014 results. The dial-in number for a telephone replay of the conference call is 888-203-1112 and 719-457-0820 and will be available until February 21, 2014. The confirmation code for the replay is 3679590.
Cautionary Information About Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this press release regarding iPass’ expectations and belief that the Unity business is progressing, the confidence in the prospects for growth of Open Mobile, and iPass’ prospects for selling or otherwise achieving a strategic transaction relating to Unity, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the expectations contained in these statements due to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the following: the risk that strong competition in the market for Mobility Services and iPass Unity Network Services could reduce the demand for iPass’ services; the risk that rapid changes in the market for iPass Unity services may decrease demand for these services or cause iPass to decrease its prices for these services; the risk that potential acquirers may not ultimately determine to acquire the iPass Unity services business at a price that we find acceptable, or at all, in which case iPass would not be able to sell the iPass Unity services business and would not receive any proceeds; the risk that the Open Mobile platform business will not achieve the market acceptance that iPass expects; and the risk that demand for Mobility Services does not grow as iPass expects. Detailed information about these and other risk factors that could potentially affect iPass’ business, financial condition and results of operations are included in iPass’ Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 15, 2013, and available at the SEC’s Web site at www.sec.gov and the company’s website at http://investor.ipass.com. iPass undertakes no responsibility to update the information in this press release if any forward-looking statement later turns out to be an inaccurate prediction of the actual results.
In addition, investors and others should note that iPass announces material financial information to its investors using its investor relations website, SEC filings, press releases, public conference calls and webcasts. iPass also uses social media to communicate with its customers and the public about iPass, its products and services and other matters relating to its business and market. It is possible that the information iPass posts on social media could be deemed to be material information. Therefore, iPass encourages investors, the media, and others interested in iPass to review the information it posts on U.S. social media channels including the iPass Twitter Feed, the iPass LinkedIn Feed, the iPass Google+ Feed, the iPass Facebook Page, the iPass Blog, the iPass Instagram account, the iPass Pinterest page and Evan Kaplan’s Twitter Feed. These social media channels may be updated from time to time.
About iPass Inc.:
iPass helps enterprises and telecom service providers ensure their employees and subscribers stay well connected. Founded in 1996, iPass (NASDAQ: IPAS) is the world’s largest commercial Wi-Fi network and trusted connectivity platform with 2.2 million Wi-Fi hotspots across 130 countries and territories. iPass also delivers access to millions of community hotspots around the globe. iPass gives its customers easy connectivity for smartphones, tablets and laptops around the world — simply, securely and cost-effectively. For more information, please visit: http://www.ipass.com and the iPass blog, Smarter Connections.
NOTE: iPass® is a registered trademark of iPass Inc. Open Mobile, OME, Open Mobile Express, Open Mobile Exchange and OMX are trademarks of iPass Inc. Wi-Fi® is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Other company names, logos and product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks owned by their respective owners.
Find iPass on:
Twitter: @iPass: twitter.com/ipass
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ipass
iPass® is a registered trademark of iPass Inc. Wi-Fi® is a registered trademark of the WiFi Alliance. All other trademarks are owned by their respective owners.
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