-- JABRA to Become Consumer Brand for GN Netcom --
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, NASHUA, N.H. and SAN DIEGO, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ --
Effective today, August 24th, GN Netcom's purchase of San Diego-based JABRA
Corporation has been finalized. JABRA, the leading and fastest-growing
manufacturer of advanced hands-free communications products for
telecommunications, interactive computing and computer telephony applications,
forecasts approximately USD 40 million in revenues this fiscal year.
( Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990920/GNNETCOM )
GN Netcom, a world leader in hands-free communications technologies,
specializes in the design and manufacture of high-quality headsets and voice
input devices for both corded and wireless applications. GN Netcom will
market products for mobile communications under the JABRA brand name to
further enhance JABRA's leading market position. Effective immediately, JABRA
will operate as a strategic business unit within the GN Netcom Group under the
leadership of current president and CEO, Vicki Marion. JABRA will continue to
operate from its headquarters in San Diego, California.
The purchase price for JABRA Corporation was agreed at USD 40 million plus
earn out payments totaling a maximum of USD 35 million. The acquisition of
JABRA joins together two companies known for developing innovative and
technologically advanced products and brings GN Netcom significantly closer to
realizing its goal of becoming the world's leading supplier of solutions for
hands-free communications. "JABRA's current product portfolio complements
both GN Netcom's business-to-business and consumer offerings and gives GN
Netcom substantial reach in the rapidly growing consumer market segment," said
P. Michael Fairweather, president and CEO of GN Netcom, Inc., and executive
vice president of the GN Netcom Group.
What the Future Holds
With the revolutionary JABRA EarSet(TM), an earpiece that combines both
speaker and microphone in one diminutive unit, the JABRA name has become one
of the best-selling and most popular consumer headset brands on the market
today.
JABRA will continue to offer its current breadth of products and introduce
innovative new products this fall. As GN Netcom's consumer division, JABRA
will provide the company with the brand equity and sales channels needed to
enhance the distribution of GN Netcom products to consumers. These channels
include cellular carriers, distributors, dealers, OEM customers and major
consumer electronic retailers such as RadioShack and Circuit City. JABRA
products will be distributed in Europe and Asia, leveraging the combined
assets of JABRA's brand equity and GN Netcom's extensive worldwide sales
organization.
"We look forward to leveraging GN Netcom's vast R&D capabilities and their
leadership position in such emerging technologies as Bluetooth to further
distance ourselves from competitors in the wireless hands-free arena," said
Vicki Marion, president and CEO of JABRA Corporation. "Our partnership with
GN Netcom will transform JABRA into a global leader for both mobile and
wireless hands-free solutions," added Marion.
GN Netcom's GN Express line of headsets, including the M50/M2120 short
boom and M200/M2320 long boom, will be made available under the JABRA brand
name. Additional JABRA-branded products will be introduced and marketed this
fall.
About GN Netcom
GN Netcom is a world leader in hands-free communications technologies.
Specializing in the design and manufacture of high-quality telephone headsets,
voice input devices, remote voice pickup and related products, the company
offers a product line that defines the state-of-the-art for both traditional
corded and wireless solutions. By working in close partnership with
customers, GN Netcom has become a leading provider of hands-free solutions to
the call center, general office, small office/home office (SOHO), mobile and
PC applications markets in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. GN Netcom
has production facilities in the United States and Europe and cooperates with
distributors in more than 60 countries around the world.
GN Netcom is part of GN Great Nordic, a Danish based group of companies in
the technology sector. The GN Great Nordic Group is traded on the Copenhagen
Stock Exchange (Reuters: GNTC.CO, Bloomberg: TELN DC) and the London Stock
Exchange.
GN Netcom, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GN Netcom A/S, is
headquartered in Nashua, N.H., with offices in Scotts Valley, Calif., San
Diego, Calif. and Mississauga, Ontario. GN Netcom products are sold through
specialty distributors, supply houses and dealers, under the brand names GN
Netcom, UNEX and ACS. GN Netcom also provides OEM products to familiar brand
name companies.
For more information about any of GN Netcom's high quality, innovative
hands-free communications solutions, contact GN Netcom, Inc., 1-800-826-4656,
or visit http://www.gnnetcom.com.
About JABRA Corporation
Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., JABRA provides hands-free
communications products for telecommunications, interactive computing and
computer telephony applications. JABRA is best known for the EarSet(TM), a
device that combines a microphone and speaker in a single ear-unit suited for
use with mobile telephones, cordless telephones and computers. JABRA also
markets other hands-free products for use with cordless telephones and
computers.
JABRA expects to maintain a very strong growth trend throughout the
foreseeable future. Most of JABRA's sales are in the United States. Its
products are marketed through cellular carriers, distributors, dealers, OEM
customers and major retail and Internet partners. Key strategic customers
include major consumer retailers and wireless carriers.
For more information about JABRA Corporation and its products, please call
1-800-EAR-2230 (858-622-9955 outside North America), or visit http://www.jabra.com.
SOURCE GN Netcom, Inc.
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.gnnetcom.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990920/GNNETCOM
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 201-369-3467
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/128300.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 128300
CONTACT:
Sean Dolan of Earle Palmer Brown,
203-705-9235, sdolan@epb.com; or Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek of GN
Netcom, 603-579-5525, mboockoff-bajdek@gnnetcom.com; or Thomas
Hanson of JABRA Corp., 858-622-9877, thanson@jabra.com
|
