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EXHIBIT 99
UNIVERSAL ACCESS ACQUIRES TRI-QUAD ENTERPRISES AND LATTIS
TRI-QUAD'S LATTIS DATABASE EXTENDS REACH OF UNIVERSAL ACCESS' UNIVERSAL
INFORMATION EXCHANGE AND GIVES CARRIERS AND ISPS EXPANDED WORLDWIDE PRICING DATA
AND SPEED-TO-MARKET
CHICAGO, JULY 5, 2000 - Universal Access, Inc. (NASDAQ: UAXS), a leading
provider of Internet network infrastructure services, announced today the
acquisition of Tri-Quad Enterprises, Inc., which produces LATTIS (Local Area
Transport Tariff Information System), the industry's leading information tool
for circuit pricing. The acquisition marks the third in a series of strategic
transactions aimed at transforming Universal Access' Universal Information
Exchange (UIX) into the industry's most comprehensive, global database of
pricing discovery and circuit capacity. Terms of the agreement were not
disclosed.
"The acquisition of Tri-Quad is one of several strategic announcements that
validates our commitment to offer the industry's smartest tool for circuit
pricing and provisioning," said Patrick Shutt, President and CEO of Universal
Access. "LATTIS is the industry's gold standard and a highly comprehensive
instrument which will assist us in providing our customers with even faster and
more efficient information on the price, availability and status of circuits.
This acquisition is another clear signal of our dedication to deliver on the
twin pillar strategy that combines information and facilities outlined by our
management team during our initial public offering."
Tri-Quad's LATTIS database is used by nearly 300 carriers and service providers
to determine circuit costs. LATTIS contains information covering more than
250,000 rate elements, including rate zone, rate period, premium classification,
multiple line indicator and mileage band. Coupled with last year's acquisition
of Stuff Software's CO Finder! and the recent strategic alignment with Amerex,
Tri-Quad will serve as an additional building block to Universal Access' UIX, a
set of proprietary databases that contains information on network capacity,
availability and pricing from more than 60 transport suppliers and more than
150,000 physical sites. These information systems will further extend the reach
of the UIX by providing greater visibility into the supply and demand for
circuits and will help alleviate industry wide provisioning problems.
"This acquisition enhances our ability to bring new efficiencies to the global
telecommunications marketplace and is a natural progression of our business,"
said Jeffrey Close, CEO of Tri-Quad. "We saw great opportunity in taking the
information LATTIS provides and converging it with the Universal Access business
model to create a greater value proposition for the leading ISPs, ASPs and
telecommunications service providers."
Universal Access manages information and facilities to provide end-to-end global
network connectivity faster and more efficiently than any one carrier can on
their own. By stitching fragmented networks together, Universal Access harnesses
the power of the world's major carriers, creating the ubiquitous infrastructure
needed to fuel the Internet's explosive growth.
Tri-Quad was formed in 1990 by Jeffrey Close to make available the LATTIS
information systems for the telecommunications industry. Jeffrey Close will
continue in a consultative role. Tri-Quad will operate as a wholly owned
subsidiary of Universal Access and is not anticipated to materially impact
revenues in 2000.
ABOUT UNIVERSAL ACCESS
Headquartered in Chicago, Universal Access provides clients with a single,
outsourced, carrier-neutral solution to the challenges they face within a
fragmented network services market. Universal Access has partnered with industry
leaders including AboveNet/MFN, Allied Riser Communications, AT&T, BCE Nexxia,
Broadwing, Cable & Wireless, GTEi, MCI WorldCom,
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UUNET, Williams and Winstar to help build the global infrastructure needed to
fuel the growth of the Internet.
Universal Access provides the only solution in the marketplace today that
delivers end-to-end network connections to ISPs, ASPs, and telecommunication
service providers with the speed-to-market required to support the increasingly
high global bandwidth demands. By combining information and interconnection
facility management, Universal Access is provisioning end-to-end, high-speed
network circuits and capacity much more quickly and cost-effectively than their
customers are able to do themselves. Two unique strategic pillars enable the
unparalleled speed-to-market: the Universal Information Exchange (UIX), a
proprietary database containing pricing, location and circuit availability from
more than 60 transport suppliers, and Universal Transport Exchanges (UTX),
physical interconnection facilities that provide the infrastructure needed to
connect all of the competing networks together.
Stuff Software, a division of Universal Access, has provided a suite of database
products to a wide range of telecommunication service providers and ISPs. Its
product line includes CO Finder!, which enables users to look up central office
and frame-relay switching locations throughout the U.S.; LocationFinder!, a
telecommunications mapping program; and PriceFinder!, which provides a database
of telecommunications pricing.
ABOUT AMEREX BANDWIDTH
Created in the spring of 1999, Amerex Bandwidth, Ltd. is a sister company to
Amerex Natural Gas, Inc and Amerex Power, Inc. (amerexenergy.com), the largest
energy brokerage in North America. The three companies are part of the Amerex
Group of Companies that provides risk management services, data services, trade
execution and consulting services to clients worldwide. Amerex Bandwidth, Ltd.
is located at One Sugar Creek Boulevard, Suite 1000, Sugarland, TX 77478.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF
1995. The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts
may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements, including but not limited
to statements regarding the potential benefits of acquisitions Universal Access
has completed and the ability to provision circuits quickly and cost
effectively. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in any
forward-looking statements as a result of certain risks and uncertainties
including, without limitation, operational and management inefficiencies that
may be experienced after new businesses are acquired, potential inability to
maintain and expand UIX databases, difficulties in provisioning circuits, the
difficulty of attracting new clients or increasing sales to existing clients,
competition in the company's industry, the difficulty of managing growth of
operations, and the need to raise additional capital. For other risks and
uncertainties applicable to the company's business refer to the company's
Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Universal Access assumes no
obligation to update the information included in this release. All subsequent
written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or
persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this
paragraph.
CONTACT:
Universal Access, Inc. Stephanie Layden, 312/660-5076
[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
-or- PR21 for Universal Access, Inc. Erica LeBorgne, 312-396-9792
[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
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