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Exhibit 99.1
InfoSpace to acquire Locus Dialogue, global leader in speech recognition
technologies and speech-enabled applications, currently being distributed by
SBC Communications and Bell Canada
InfoSpace brings the most advanced, multi-lingual natural language understanding
and speaker verification technology to its wireless platform
BELLEVUE, Wash., Nov. 6 -- InfoSpace (Nasdaq: INSP), a leading global
provider of cross-platform merchant and consumer infrastructure services on
wireless, broadband, and narrowband platforms, today announced that it has
reached a definitive agreement to acquire Montreal-based Locus Dialogue Inc.,
the world's fastest-growing developer of speech recognition-enabled
applications. This acquisition positions InfoSpace to speech-enable a wide
variety of existing wireless applications, such as personalized information,
location-based services, and mobile commerce services. In addition, this will
allow InfoSpace to develop other unique mobile offerings, such as speech-
activated dialing.
The acquisition signals InfoSpace's strong entry into the speech-enabled
application market, with the addition of Locus Dialogue's core speech
recognition technologies and speech-enabled applications that have been in
development for more than 14 years. Locus Dialogue has already deployed its
technology through products distributed by large telecommunication providers,
including SBC Communications, Bell Canada, and Williams Communications
Solutions. Locus Dialogue's core speech technologies provide automatic speech
recognition, natural language understanding, speaker verification, speaker
identification, and text-to-speech server technology, as well as grammar object
framework, which provides solutions based on alphanumeric data, including dates,
times, monetary values, zip codes, and telephone numbers.
"By definition, speech is a great interaction medium for wireless phones
and other mobile devices, and we're thrilled to add Locus Dialogue's proven
speech recognition technologies and products to InfoSpace's wireless platform,
which will increase user penetration rates and the discoverability and usability
of our new features, for our carriers' wireless Internet offerings," said Arun
Sarin, InfoSpace CEO. "This acquisition adds an important and differential
element to the industry-leading services InfoSpace offers our global customers,
in enabling people to more effectively communicate, collaborate, conduct
commerce and manage their lives any time, anywhere, and on any device."
Internationally acclaimed technologies and applications in development for 14
years
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At a time in which the international adoption of wireless communication
devices is rapidly accelerating, Locus Dialogue's speech recognition
technologies and products are uniquely suited for global deployment. These
technologies accommodate many of the world's major languages, including
simultaneous support for multiple languages, as they are currently deployed in
French and English speaking Canada, English and Spanish speaking regions of the
United States, as well as multi-language speaking regions of Europe. They also
enable simultaneous bilingual speech-recognition, allowing a caller to interact
in their language of choice. Locus Dialogue's technologies also support natural
language understanding, as well as large vocabulary lists.
Locus Dialogue was founded in 1996, as a spin-off of the Computer Research
Institute of Montreal (CRIM), where the company founders played key roles in the
development of CRIM's internationally acclaimed speech recognition technology.
In total, Locus Dialogue's core technologies and applications have been in
development for more than 14 years and have earned numerous industry awards,
including honors from Computer Telephony Expo 2000, Communications Solutions
Expo 2000, and this year's Multimedia International Market (MIM) Grand Prize for
Business Solutions, reflective of the company's effectiveness in combining the
power of the Internet with the simplicity of a phone call.
"We are thrilled to be joining forces with InfoSpace, as we now have an
unmatched global platform to extend our vision of providing speech recognition
access to people, places and information from any telephone, anywhere, at
anytime," said Mary Dunlop, President and CEO of Locus Dialogue. "We have highly
compatible visions, along with tremendous technological synergies across our
businesses. We look forward to extending our applications and technologies to
the InfoSpace platform, and to working together to provide these offerings to
millions of users worldwide, through InfoSpace's client base of the wireless
sector's leading companies."
Terms of the transaction
InfoSpace will issue approximately 4.3 million to 5.5 million shares of its
common stock for the Montreal, Canada-based enterprise, based on a formula to be
calculated at the time of the acquisition's completion. The transaction is
expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2000 and is subject to customary
closing conditions.
About Locus Dialogue
Locus Dialogue creates applications that provide speech recognition access
to people, places and information from any telephone, anywhere, at anytime.
These
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applications leverage investment in communications infrastructures by
facilitating access. This innovative strategy brings speech recognition to a
large variety of Internet applications and telephony networks through
partnerships with carriers, service providers, system integrators and value-
adding distributors. Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Locus Dialogue has
regional sales offices across North America and Europe. Distribution and
development networks include partnerships with: Accord, Agape Telecom, Allstar
Systems, ATI, Avtex, Bell Canada, 3rd Wave Communications, Cogis Industries,
Salient Communications, Dial Pro Northwest, DialPro Tennessee, Dictronics, Great
Plains, GST Corp., Matra Nortel Communications, Multinet, QuebecTel, SBC
Communications, Speechwise Technologies, Standard Tel, Voice Pro, Williams
Communications Solutions and Xpedior.
About InfoSpace, Inc.
InfoSpace is a leading global provider of cross-platform merchant and
consumer infrastructure services on wireless, broadband, and narrowband
platforms. The company provides commerce, information, and communication
infrastructure services to wireless devices, merchants, and Web sites.
InfoSpace's affiliates encompass a global network of wireless, PC, and non-PC
devices, including cellular phones, pagers, screen telephones, television set-
top boxes, online kiosks and personal digital assistants. These include
relationships with AT&T Wireless, Intel, Ericsson, Nokia, Mitsui, Acer America,
Hasbro, National Discount Brokers, and Bloomberg LLC. InfoSpace's affiliate
network also consists of more 3,200 Web sites that include AOL, Microsoft,
Disney's GO Network, NBC's Snap, Lycos, DoubleClick and ABC LocalNet, among
others. InfoSpace is also positioned to tap the market for broadband wired (DSL
and cable) and broadband wireless (2.5G and 3G) services, such as interactive
gaming, television and other entertainment services. In addition, the company
recently added full back end payment processing to InfoSpace's existing commerce
services, allowing InfoSpace to offer everything a merchant needs to conduct the
entire lifecycle of a transaction, one of the key drivers of mobile commerce
adoption.
This release contains forward-looking statements relating to the planned
acquisition of Locus Dialogue and the integration of InfoSpace's products and
services with those of Locus Dialogue, the development of the company's products
and services and future operating results that are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," variations of
such words, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but
their absence does not mean that the statement is not forward-looking. These
statements are not guarantees of future
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performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that
are difficult to predict. Factors that could affect the Company's actual results
include, among other factors, the ability of InfoSpace to successfully integrate
its products and services with those of Locus Dialogue, the progress and costs
of the development of our products and services and the timing of market
acceptance of those products and services. A more detailed description of
certain factors that could affect actual results include, but are not limited
to, those discussed in InfoSpace's Annual Report on Form 10-K, in the section
entitled "Factors Affecting InfoSpace's Operating Results, Business Prospects
and Market Price of Stock Risk Factors." Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the
date of this release. InfoSpace undertakes no obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances
after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events.
CONTACT: Mark S. Peterson, Vice President of Public Relations, 206-357-
4000, or [email protected], or Dino Christofilis, SVP, Investor Relations, 206-
357-4000, or [email protected], both of InfoSpace, Inc.; or Mark Lowe, Market
Relations Manager of Locus Dialogue Inc., 514-954-3804, or
[email protected].
SOURCE InfoSpace, Inc.
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