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Exhibit 99
For Immediate Release
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CheckFree Media Relations: Microsoft Media Relations: First Data Media Relations:
Judy Morris Barb Hemberger Mary Schafer
(678) 375-1595 Shandwick for Microsoft (770) 857-7188
[email protected] (952) 346-6232 [email protected]
[email protected]
CheckFree Investor Relations: Microsoft Investor Relations: First Data Investor Relations:
Tina Moore Carla Lewis Barbara Marxer
(678) 375-1278 (425) 936-3703 (770) 857-7118
[email protected] [email protected]
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CHECKFREE AND TRANSPOINT COMPLETE MERGER
ATLANTA and REDMOND, Wash. (September 5, 2000) - CheckFree (Nasdaq:
CKFR), the market leader in electronic billing and payment, and TransPoint LLC
today announced that the merger of the two companies has closed. TransPoint is
the electronic billing and payment joint venture between Microsoft Corp.
(Nasdaq: MSFT) and First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC), with Citibank as a minority
shareholder. On September 1 CheckFree shareholders approved the issuance of 17
million shares of CheckFree Common Stock in connection with the merger with
TransPoint. The two companies announced their plans to merge in February 2000.
Effective today, Microsoft and First Data each have gained a seat on
CheckFree's Board of Directors. Named to the positions are Lewis Levin, who in
addition to having served as president and CEO of TransPoint is a vice president
at Microsoft, and Ric Duques, chairman and CEO of First Data Corporation.
CheckFree will integrate its electronic billing and payment technology
with technology developed by TransPoint to create a common platform to simplify
the creation and deployment of electronic bills on the Internet.
"Almost immediately after announcing our intent to merge CheckFree and
TransPoint technology, we experienced a marked acceleration in billers
committing to electronic billing and payment, which highlights the positive role
we expect finalizing this merger to play in growing the market overall," said
Pete Kight, CheckFree's chairman and CEO. "Just over 70 percent of the 93
billers we signed last year made commitments to CheckFree in the third or fourth
quarters of our fiscal 2000, and we announced our merger plans about halfway
through the third quarter," Kight said.
"Clearly the process for deciding how to get bills online is much
simpler when billers have an end-to-end solution that integrates leading
electronic billing software technology with a scalable and reliable payment and
service infrastructure. Now that we have completed this transaction, we can
further accelerate the work we have begun with Microsoft and First Data to
advance the benefits of electronic billing and payment for both billers and
consumers. Our goal is to create momentum that leads to our electronic delivery
of more than half the average U.S. household's recurring bills next year. The
completion of the transaction and our continued focus on bringing more billers
to the `Net will enable our nearly 200 bank, brokerage, credit union and portal
partners to deliver increasingly valuable content to their customers under their
trusted brands," Kight concluded.
"Microsoft is committed to creating unique Web capabilities for
consumers on MSN(R) and MoneyCentral(TM) using CheckFree, and on integrating
payment and billing capabilities in our new Microsoft(R).NET platform," Levin
said. "Microsoft and CheckFree are truly aligned to provide the momentum that
the electronic billing and payment market needs to gain a critical mass of
billers and consumers. We also are dedicated to executing a smooth transition
for CheckFree and TransPoint customers, both billers and consumers," Levin
added.
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Duques noted that the transaction enables CheckFree to capitalize on
First Data's core payment processing expertise, and for First Data to take
advantage of CheckFree's electronic bill creation and distribution software to
bring its bills to the Internet.
"First Data is focused on helping clients utilize new payment
technologies in their business, while ultimately driving processing volumes to
our business. We have relationships with more than 4,000 billers today that we
can help transition from paper to Internet billing and payment," said Duques.
"We expect many synergies between First Data and CheckFree as a result of this
transaction."
"Having CheckFree, Microsoft and First Data combine is exactly what the
industry needs in order to truly gain the consumer's trust and jump start their
adoption of electronic bill presentment and payment," said Klaus Werner, senior
director & general manager of BellSouth e-store. "The customer will be the
winner when the best of each technology provider is converged into one system."
COOPERATING ON TECHNOLOGY
As previously disclosed, CheckFree, Microsoft and First Data will
collaborate on the development of new products and services, and use each
other's technologies. Some of these agreements are as follows:
o The companies have agreed to work together to develop
electronic invoicing and payment for Microsoft's More than 50
billers had agreed to use TransPoint's electronic billing and
payment system, approximately 30 of which will be net new
billers to CheckFree. These join CheckFree's base of 157
billers, for a total of about 190 billers committed to
electronic billing and payment using CheckFree's end-to-end
integrated billing and payment services.
o The companies have agreed to work together to develop
electronic invoicing and payment for Microsoft's
business-to-business initiatives, as well as for future
financial electronic commerce services, including the
integration of First Data's payment solutions. CheckFree will
provide electronic billing and payment technology used in
applications and services Microsoft and First Data develop.
o CheckFree's i-Solutions software group will utilize Microsoft
technology to develop and deploy electronic billing and
payment solutions, and CheckFree can capitalize on First
Data's broad range of electronic payment technologies,
including processing, settlement and electronic remittance
capabilities.
o CheckFree will add Microsoft Windows NT(R) operating system
and Microsoft SQL Server(TM) database software to its
development of electronic billing and payment solutions for
billers, as well as Microsoft Windows NT and the Microsoft
BackOffice(R) family in its data center. CheckFree also will
support the Microsoft.NET platform.
o CheckFree will have the opportunity to use First Data's broad
array of electronic payment and reconciliation services.
Western Union's domestic network of more than 4,000 billers,
from electric and gas to water and phone companies, will help
accelerate consumer adoption, increasing the number of
e-commerce processing opportunities.
TERMS OF THE TRANSACTION AND FINANCIAL IMPACT
The transaction has been accounted for as a purchase by CheckFree. As
part of the transaction, CheckFree has gained an exclusive five-year
relationship with Microsoft to provide electronic billing and payment technology
used in applications and services that Microsoft develops. During that time,
Microsoft will guarantee a minimum of $120 million in revenue to CheckFree.
First Data also has entered into a five-year relationship with
CheckFree, during which time First Data and CheckFree will market and use each
other's products and services. First Data will provide at least $60 million in
revenue and/or cost savings to CheckFree. First Data will sell CheckFree's
electronic billing and payment services
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to its customers. To further improve operating costs, CheckFree will use First
Data's electronic biller connections and range of electronic payment products
and services.
Immediately before closing the transaction, Microsoft, First Data and
Citibank collectively contributed $100 million to TransPoint. These funds bring
CheckFree's cash position to $285 million.
CheckFree will provide guidance regarding the financial impact of the
transaction on the first quarter of fiscal 2001 in a press release in
conjunction with its annual Institutional Investor Conference, scheduled for
September 7, 2000.
ABOUT FIRST DATA
Atlanta-based First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC) is a global leader in electronic
commerce and payment services. Serving more than two million merchant locations,
more than 1,400 card issuers and millions of consumers, First Data makes it
easier, faster and more secure for people and businesses to buy goods and
services, using virtually any form of payment: credit, debit, stored-value card
or check at the point-of-sale, over the Internet or by money wire. For more
information, please visit the company's Web site at www.firstdata.com.
ABOUT MICROSOFT
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software,
services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The
company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people
through great software - any time, any place and on any device.
ABOUT CHECKFREE
CheckFree (www.checkfree.com) is the leading provider of financial electronic
commerce services and products. Founded as an electronic payments processor in
1981, CheckFree launched the first fully integrated electronic billing and
payment solution in March of 1997. Today, CheckFree services enable 3.5 million
consumers to receive and pay bills over the Internet or electronically. The
company has multi-year contracts with 157 of the nation's top billers to provide
on-line billing and payment through its network of partnerships with nearly 200
consumer service providers (CSPs), including banks, brokerage firms, Internet
portals and content sites and personal financial management (PFM) software. The
CheckFree i-Solutions business unit provides integrated, end-to-end electronic
billing and payment software and services that enable billers to transform bills
and statements into interactive conduits for customer relationship management,
marketing and customer self service applications. CheckFree's Investment
Services division provides a range of investment management services to help
more than 255 institutions provide portfolio management and reporting services
to their clients. CheckFree clients manage over 962,000 portfolios totaling more
than $480 billion in assets. CheckFree's Software division provides solutions
that are used to process more than two-thirds of the nation's six billion
Automated Clearing House payments. In addition, nearly 400 banks and businesses
use reconciliation products and services the division provides.
Certain of the Company's statements in this press release are not purely
historical, and as such are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include statements
regarding management's intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or projections
of the future. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties,
including without limitation, the various risks inherent in the Company's
business, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the
Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including Form 10-K/A for the year ended June 30, 1999 (filed July 10, 2000),
Form 10-Q/A for the quarter ended March 31, 2000 (filed July 10, 2000), Form S-3
Registration Statement, as amended (filed January 14, 2000, and amended on
January 26, April 10, 2000, July 13, 2000 and July 31, 2000), Form S-4
Registration Statement, as amended (filed July 10, 2000 and amended on July 31,
2000) and Definitive Proxy Statement (filed August 25, 2000). One or more of
these factors have affected, and could in the future affect, the Company's
business and financial results in future periods, and could cause actual results
to differ materially from plans and projections. There can be no assurance that
the forward-looking statements made in this document will prove to be accurate,
and issuance of such forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a
representation by the Company, or any other person, that the objectives and
plans of the Company will be achieved.
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All forward-looking statements made in this press release are based on
information presently available to management, and the Company assumes no
obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Microsoft, MSN, MoneyCentral, Windows NT and BackOffice are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other
countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be
the trademarks of their respective owners.
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