<PAGE> 1
EXHIBIT 99.1
[ELOQUENT LETTERHEAD]
PRESS RELEASE
ELOQUENT, INC. ADOPTS STOCKHOLDER RIGHTS PLAN
San Mateo, CA, OCTOBER 20, 2000 - ELOQUENT, INC. [ELOQ] announced that
its Board of Directors approved the adoption of a Stockholder Rights Plan under
which all stockholders of record as of November 8, 2000 will receive rights to
purchase shares of a new series of Preferred Stock.
The Rights Plan is designed to enable all Eloquent's stockholders to
realize the full value of their investment and to provide for fair and equal
treatment for all stockholders in the event that an unsolicited attempt is made
to acquire Eloquent. The adoption of the Rights Plan is intended as a means to
guard against abusive takeover tactics and is not in response to any particular
proposal.
The rights will be distributed as a non-taxable dividend and will expire
in ten years. The rights will be exercisable only if a person or group acquires
20% or more of Eloquent's Common Stock or announces a tender offer for 20% or
more of the Common Stock. If a person acquires 20% or more of Eloquent's Common
Stock, all rightsholders except the buyer will be entitled to acquire Eloquent's
Common Stock at a discount. The effect will be to discourage acquisitions of
more than 20% of Eloquent's Common Stock without negotiations with the Board.
The rights will trade with Eloquent's Common Stock, unless and until
they are separated upon the occurrence of certain future events. The rights
distribution is not taxable to the stockholders. Eloquent's Board of Directors
may terminate the Rights Plan at any time or redeem the rights prior to the time
a person acquires more than 20% of Eloquent's Common Stock. Additional details
regarding the Rights Plan will be outlined in a summary to be mailed to all
stockholders following the record date.
ABOUT ELOQUENT, INC.
Eloquent (Nasdaq: ELOQ) is the leader in Web-based rich media business
communications solutions. Eloquent products and services quickly and effectively
transfer knowledge to large audiences over the Web using synchronized on-demand
video, audio, text and graphics. Eloquent solutions improve an organization's
ability to deploy knowledge quickly. They reduce time-to-market, increase
customer satisfaction, and enable on-demand strategic communications that drive
top-line performance-at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.
Eloquent's full service solution offering includes Web-based enterprise
software, content production facilities, content and application hosting, and a
complete professional services offering. Eloquent's open architecture integrates
easily with industry-leading technologies, enterprise applications, and other
digital content. Eloquent's worldwide customer base includes over 2 million
users across more than 220 companies.
<PAGE> 2
Except for historical information, all of the expectations and assumptions
contained in the foregoing are forward-looking statements involving risks and
uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
competition in our markets and for qualified personnel, timing of customer
orders and technological change. For additional information regarding these and
other risks refer to Eloquent's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2000,
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Eloquent and the Eloquent logo are trademarks of Eloquent, Inc. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
