MOUNDS VIEW, Minn. and ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberty,
the credit union movement's leading provider of payment systems, marketing
services and technology solutions, has signed a letter of intent to purchase
the assets of Cavion Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: CAVN).
Terms of the agreement, which were not disclosed, will be filed today with
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado, Denver. Cavion filed
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Dec. 21, 2000.
According to Robert D. Anderson, Liberty president and chief executive
officer, Cavion management supports the conditions that Liberty believes are
necessary to strengthen the financial stability of Cavion. Those strategies
include appropriate levels of staff and infrastructure along with increased
fees for Cavion's family of products and services to credit unions.
"We're very pleased Cavion President and CEO David Selina and Cavion
management understand our efforts to keep commitments to credit union
customers, support employees and respond as well as possible to creditors,"
said Anderson. "While this effort still represents risk for Liberty, the
letter of intent agreement we have reached achieves all of these goals."
Anderson said the next steps in the acquisition plan are:
-- Seeking new, three-year contracts with Cavion's credit union customers;
-- Establishing a new pricing structure for Cavion's products and services
to establish a foundation for a positive cash flow and break-even
operating income;
-- Renegotiating agreements with Cavion's suppliers and business partners;
and
-- Seeking acquisition approval by mid-February from the bankruptcy court
with which Cavion has filed for Chapter 11 protection.
Over the next two weeks, Liberty will be seeking service agreements from
current Cavion customers, 231 credit union entities around the country.
Anderson said Liberty's acquisition decision will be based on Cavion customer
response and commitment by Jan. 31. The letter of intent allows Liberty to
withdraw its bid to purchase if customer response does not meet Liberty's
goals.
"Even with the new, increased pricing and other conditions, the Cavion
products would still represent remarkable value for Cavion's current
customers," Anderson said. "Initial response from credit unions has been
positive."
Earlier this week, Liberty announced plans to explore the purchase of
Cavion, a company that that offers secure Internet financial products and
services designed specifically for credit unions. An agreement would expand
Liberty's offerings to include Cavion's security-focused private network for
credit unions, CUiNET, and its Internet banking platform, CUiBanking, and its
Members Emporium Internet service.
"Mutual credit union customers have encouraged us to explore adding
Cavion's products and services to our organization," said Robert D. Anderson,
Liberty President and Chief Executive Officer. "We have been impressed with
Cavion's technology developments, service track record and strong IT
reputation with their customers."
The sale of Cavion would make the company part of Liberty, a 15-year-old
private, employee- and family-owned company with 920 employees. Liberty
serves 5,000 credit unions in all 50 states, Guam and Puerto Rico.
Under bankruptcy reorganization, Cavion remains in possession of current
operations and assets during the reorganization period and has had ongoing
negotiations with several entities interested in acquiring Cavion's assets and
providing capital to continue operations and services.
About Liberty
Liberty partners with 5,000 credit unions in all 50 states, Guam and
Puerto Rico. Liberty's core product is the check, still consumers' leading
financial transaction vehicle. The company is the credit union movement's
leading provider of payment systems (checks, card services, financial
supplies), marketing services (database marketing, creative services,
outsource marketing, market research) and technology solutions (data
processing, Web-site development and hosting, Internet banking). Liberty is
headquartered in Mounds View, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The
company has also established marketing centers in Los Angeles, St. Louis,
Minneapolis and Hartford, Conn.
About Cavion
Cavion Technologies offers products and services for secure
business-to-business communications and secure Internet financial products and
services designed specifically for the needs of credit unions. The company's
Internet software products include secure Internet access, online
transactional banking, cellular access, online bill payment, and online loan
decision products, along with enabling software for kiosks.
Cavion created a secure, private communications network called CUiNET
(Credit Union interactive Network) exclusively for the credit union industry.
CUiNET provides a secure, high-speed communications platform for the delivery
of services, transactions and information to and from credit unions and
related organizations, such as trade organizations, corporate credit unions
and credit union vendors. The company's headquarters are located at
6466 South Kenton Street, Englewood, CO 80111. Its telephone number is
720-875-1900.
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Cavion uses words
such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "future," "may," "will," "should,"
"plan," "projected," "intend" and similar expressions to identify
forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the company's
beliefs and the assumptions it made using information currently available to
it. Because these statements reflect the company's current views concerning
future events, these statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions.
The actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking
statements. Some, but not all, of the factors that may cause these
differences are discussed in the risk factors section of the company's
periodic filings under the Securities Act of 1933. In any event, you should
not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only
as of the date of this news release.
For more information, contact Rick Foy, Liberty Public Relations Manager
at 800-607-2435, ext. 2436.
SOURCE Liberty Enterprises
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Related links:
http://www.libertycheck.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/110839.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 110839
CONTACT:
Rick Foy, 800-607-2435, ext. 2436, or Robert
D. Anderson, President & CEO, 800-607-2435, ext. 2355, both of
Liberty Enterprises, or David Selina, President & CEO of Cavion,
720-875-1910
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