<PAGE>
EXHIBIT 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VIRATA COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF AGRANAT SYSTEMS AND OBTAINS KEY WEBTECHNOLOGIES
AND NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
SANTA CLARA, Calif., August 21, 2000 - Virata Corporation (Nasdaq: VRTA)
today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Agranat Systems, Inc. a
leading supplier of web technologies and networking management software to
industry leaders such as Alcatel, 3COM Corporation, Cabletron, Hewlett-Packard,
Efficient Networks, Lucent, Nortel and Siemens. Under the terms of the merger
agreement, Virata will issue approximately 492,000 shares of its common stock to
acquire all of the outstanding shares and options of Agranat Systems.
"Agranat's technology will allow us to address one of the most important
issues facing the DSL industry today- which is how to easily install,
reconfigure and maintain DSL services," said Virata Chief Executive Officer
Charles Cotton. "We believe this acquisition will significantly enhance our
integrated software and hardware solutions and enable our CPE customers to
deliver plug-and-play compatible DSL devices that end-users can easily and
quickly install right out the box."
In order to support Agranat's existing customer base and to facilitate the
delivery of software-only solutions to current and future customers, Agranat
will continue to operate independently as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Virata
Corporation, with its offices located in Maynard, Mass. This new Virata
subsidiary will be managed by Ian Agranat and will continue offering software-
only solutions such as the EmWeb product family.
About Virata
Virata Corporation provides communications processors combined with
integrated software modules to manufacturers of equipment utilizing digital
subscriber line (DSL)
<PAGE>
technologies. These "integrated software on silicon" product solutions enable
customers to develop a diverse range of broadband wireless and DSL equipment
including modems, gateways, routers, and integrated access devices targeted at
the voice and high-speed data network access market. Virata's products are
designed to enable DSL equipment manufacturers to simplify product development,
reduce the time it takes for products to reach the market and focus resources on
product differentiation and improvement.
Virata is a principal member of the official ATM Forum, Bluetooth SIG
organization, the DSL Forum, HomePNA, ITU, MPLS Forum, OpenDSL Alliance and UPnP
Forum. A publicly traded company on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Virata was founded
in 1993 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
# # #
Virata is a registered trademark of Virata Corporation. All other trade,
product, or service names referenced in this release may be trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Except for historical information contained herein, this press release contains
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results
may differ materially. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are
not limited to, those relating to evolving industry standards, the pace of
development and market acceptance of Virata's products and the DSL market
generally, commercialization and technological delays or difficulties, the
impact of competitive products and technologies, competitive pricing pressures,
manufacturing risks, the possibility of our products infringing patents and
other intellectual property of third parties, product defects, costs of product
development, the company's ability to extract value from the acquisition, and
manufacturing and government regulation. Virata will not update these forward-
looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
More detailed information about potential factors that could affect Virata's
financial results is included in the documents Virata files from time to time
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Media Contacts: Kelly Morris
Virata
408-566-1026
[email protected]
Desiree Russell
Virata
919-790-9189, ext. 3336
[email protected]