Phone.com to Acquire Onebox.com
Onebox.com is a communications application service provider with 2.5 million registered users worldwide using unified e-mail, voice mail, fax, and wireless-enabled communication applications. Based on a scalable and reliable IP infrastructure, Onebox.com has designed its architecture to deliver carrier-class services that scale to support millions of subscribers and to support future innovations in communications technology. Phone.com will offer Onebox.com's applications by providing unified messaging solutions as an outsourced service or as stand-alone products. This choice gives telecom and Internet-based service providers the ability to rapidly deliver the messaging services consumers demand.
"Over the past two months we have executed a strategy to acquire the best-of-breed applications for next-generation communication services," said Alan Black, chief financial officer of Phone.com. "With the acquisition of @Motion, Paragon, and now Onebox.com, Phone.com has raised the bar yet another level and has re-written the competitive landscape in the wireless Internet industry. In addition to strengthening our competitive position at the infrastructure level, we have now leapfrogged our competitors at the applications layer. These acquisitions expand our target markets and are expected to fuel revenue acceleration."
In connection with the acquisition, Onebox.com's shareholders will receive a fixed number of approximately 6.5 million shares of Phone.com common stock. The stock-for-stock transaction will be accounted for using purchase accounting and closing is anticipated to occur during Phone.com's fourth quarter of fiscal 2000. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval. Integration of the two companies and their products is expected to occur rapidly. Onebox.com's 70 employees will be fully integrated into Phone.com.
Edited by Ellen Jensen