RICHARDSON, Texas, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Piranha, Inc.
(OTC Bulletin Board: BYTE), an innovator in data compression technology and
workflow solutions, today announced the withdrawal of its planned tender offer
for Printware, Inc.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000504/BYTELOGO )
"Today's decision concludes a long process of review and evaluation that
began with our first visit to Printware's facility on October 18, 2000," said
Edward W. Sample, C.E.O. of Piranha. "Our initial visit with Dan Baker, then
C.E.O. of Printware, was so positive that we prepared a proposal which was
delivered to the Printware Board of Directors on the following Monday (October
23rd). This action prompted an extensive dialog between Piranha and Printware
that involved a number of telephone calls and personal visits between Board
members. While much progress was made we reached an impasse in early December
which indicated to us that Printware was not prepared to move forward in a
time frame that was in line with Piranha's objectives. The result was
Piranha's announcement on December 18th of our intent to immediately commence
a tender offer."
"Immediately preceding Piranha's December 18th press release Printware
filed an 8K (material information) announcement with the SEC outlining an
"Engagement Agreement Amendment" which involved a certain consulting agreement
with Goldmark Advisors, LLC, an affiliate of a newly elected Board Member, Mr.
Stanley Goldberg. The agreement included substantial compensation to Mr.
Goldberg for his efforts to identify corporate opportunities. Moreover, the
8K also included a copy of a press release that included the resignation of
Printware's CFO.
"Less than 30 days after Piranha's announcement, Printware announced a new
CEO, Mr. Stanley Goldberg, Managing Partner of Goldmark Advisors, LLC. Most
significant to Piranha, Mr. Dan Baker would be leaving the company. Piranha
viewed Dr. Baker as a significant asset to Printware should Piranha be
successful in its anticipated takeover attempt."
"Approximately three weeks later, Printware announced a new CFO, Mr. Mark
Eisenschenk, Managing Partner of Goldmark Advisors, LLC."
"While Piranha certainly cannot dictate Printware's right to make any and
all organizational changes, Piranha believes that many of the strategic and
management foundations that provided a strong synergy are gone. To that end,
Piranha believes that our shareholders will be best served by withdrawing from
this potential opportunity. Piranha will continue, however, to pursue other
business opportunities to increase shareholder value within the near term."
About Piranha, Inc.
Piranha, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BYTE) develops digital compression
solutions to produce precise compressed images, sound and text. Piranha
delivers high-quality "lossy" and "lossless" data compression management
solutions for printing, publishing, medical imaging, document storage and
Internet-related businesses such as music, video, gaming, e-commerce, photos
and advertising. Piranha solutions increase the speed downloading web pages
and transmitting files and also maximize bandwidth and storage. Piranha
products are available on Windows, Macintosh and Linux systems. More
information is available at http://www.piranha.com .
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995
Included in this press release are certain "forward looking" statements
within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Although the
Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward looking
statements are reasonable, actual results may differ materially from those
anticipated in the forward looking statements as a result of certain factors
including sales levels, retention, competition trends, and other market
factors. This announcement does not constitute an offer of any securities for
sale or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.
CONTACT: Edward W. Sample of Piranha, Inc., 972-739-0373, or email,
edsample@piranhabyte.com, or Molly Honan or David McKee of Schwartz
Communications, 781-684-0770, or email, piranha@schwartz-pr.com
SOURCE Piranha, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.piranha.com
Photo Notes:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000504/BYTELOGO
CONTACT:
Edward W. Sample of Piranha, Inc.,
972-739-0373, or email, edsample@piranhabyte.com, or Molly Honan
or David McKee of Schwartz Communications, 781-684-0770, or
email, piranha@schwartz-pr.com
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