[Ascendant Solutions Press Release]
For Release Contact
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Thursday, September 28, 2000 Paul R. Streiber
5:00 PM CDT Ascendant Solutions
214.348.7200 ext. 298
ASCENDANT SOLUTIONSSM ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC REPOSITIONING TO FOCUS
ON SYSTEMS SOLUTIONS
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Company Will Concentrate Resources On Omnigy Platform
GARLAND, Texas, Sept. 28 - Ascendant Solutions (Nasdaq:
ASDS) announced today a strategic repositioning that will enable
it to focus on its core business-providing CRM and order
management solutions for companies engaged in online and
traditional commerce. Omnigy, Ascendant Solutions' flagship
solutions platform, enables clients to focus on operating their
business while their customers enjoy an enhanced buying
experience.
To achieve this repositioning, Ascendant Solutions said that
it would transition out of its fulfillment and call centers over
the next several months.
"After carefully reviewing each division of our business, we
have chosen to focus on and move forward with our systems
solutions business led by Omnigy," said David E. Bowe, president
and CEO of Ascendant Solutions. "We believe this business gives
us the greatest opportunity for growth and profitability. This
action gives us the freedom to concentrate on our core business,
providing systems solutions for online and traditional commerce."
Bowe said the new focus on systems solutions would benefit
the company in several ways including,
improving its market position;
bringing further clarity to its mission internally and
externally;
emphasizing value-added services;
-more-
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ASCENDANT SOLUTIONSSM TO FOCUS ON SYSTEMS SOLUTIONS
September 28, 2000
developing new market and partnership opportunities;
better leveraging the management team and technology;
providing the flexibility to partner with various
warehouse and call center companies;
reducing the cash burn rate; and
giving it the opportunity for potentially greater
valuation in financial markets by exiting low-margin
businesses and focusing on the higher growth, higher
margin systems solutions business.
"We expect these benefits to bolster our business and we are very
much looking forward to expanding our installed base of Omnigy
clients," Bowe said.
In transitioning out of the call center and warehouse
businesses, Ascendant Solutions is examining all of its options,
including the sale of the two businesses. Though the company is
currently in negotiations with certain buyers for its call center
and fulfillment center operations, discussions have not
progressed beyond a preliminary stage, and Ascendant Solutions
has not executed any letters of intent or definitive agreements.
The company can give no assurance that it will be able to find a
buyer for either or both of these operations or, to the extent a
buyer is found, that a transaction on terms acceptable or
favorable to Ascendant Solutions will be consummated. If a buyer
for these operations cannot be found or a transaction is not
consummated, Ascendant Solutions intends to close its call center
and fulfillment center operations.
If Ascendant Solutions closes both businesses, approximately
170 employees, or about 65 percent of its workforce would be
impacted over the next several months. Affected employees could
be eligible for a retention bonus if they stay with Ascendant
Solutions through the transition period, unless these businesses
are transferred or sold. Also, if the businesses are not sold,
after the transition period for each business, Ascendant
Solutions will offer certain job-placement services to eligible
employees.
"As a result of our strategic repositioning, we wanted to do
our best to look out for the people potentially impacted by this
decision," said Bowe. "Our retention plan, coupled with a job-
placement service, gives affected employees the opportunity to
minimize disruption and uncertainty in their work lives should
the businesses not be sold."
-more-
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Ascendant Solutions offers a comprehensive solutions
platform for online and traditional merchants, including online
and traditional retailers, catalogers and manufacturers. Omnigy,
Ascendant Solutions' flagship product, enables companies to focus
on their core businesses and is designed to provide their
customers with the "Ultimate Buying Experience SM." The Omnigy
platform not only speeds our clients' time to market, but also
gives them the ability to outsource and integrate their commerce-
related operations, including customer relationship management
(CRM), order management, order processing and order routing. For
more information about Ascendant Solutions, please visit
www.ascendantsolutions.com.
This release includes forward-looking statements, including
statements concerning the possible sale of the company's call
center and/or fulfillment center operations, the timing thereof,
the number of affected employees, and the possible benefits to be
derived from focusing exclusively on our software solution. All
of our forward looking statements are made under the "Safe
Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties which could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-
looking statements, including but not limited to, the following:
our ability to achieve or sustain profitability; our limited
operating history; the risks associated with the failure of our
systems and services to achieve widespread market acceptance or
meet specific client needs; significant client concentration; the
fact that our client contracts are either short-term or
terminable with minimal notice; systems risks and uncertainties,
including rapid technological change and those related to the
development of our browser-based software application; the risks
related to the possible inability of our system to connect to and
manage a larger number of clients; business conditions in the
fulfillment industry generally; the impact of market competitors
and their service offerings; and such other factors that are more
fully detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 1999.
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