Filed by Be Incorporated
Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of
1933 and deemed filed pursuant to Rule 14a-12(b)
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Subject Company: Be Incorporated
Commission File No. 333-69234
Palm Completes Acquisition of Be Incorporated; Assets and Engineering Talent to
Augment Palm OS Business Capability
SANTA CLARA and MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 13, 2001 -- Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM),
the leading provider of operating systems for use in handheld computers and the
leading provider of handhelds, and Be Incorporated (Nasdaq: BEOS) today
announced the completion of Palm's acquisition of substantially all of the
intellectual property and other technology assets of Be Incorporated for $11
million in Palm stock. In conjunction with the completion of the acquisition,
Palm also has hired several key members of Be's engineering team. The deal was
approved by Be stockholders yesterday.
The acquisition -- related to Palm's strategy to separate the Palm OS(R)
platform business from the Solutions Group -- will augment the platform's
business capability in user-centric communications, Internet and multimedia
technologies. Market-research firm IDC estimates that the Palm OS will be used
in 59.5 percent of the personal companions shipped worldwide by the end of 2001.
About Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc. is a pioneer in the field of mobile and wireless Internet solutions
and a leading provider of handheld computers, according to IDC (December 2000).
Based on the Palm OS(R) platform, Palm's handheld solutions allow people to
carry and access their most critical information wherever they go. Palm(TM)
handhelds address the needs of individuals, enterprises and educational
institutions through thousands of application solutions.
The Palm OS platform is also the foundation for products from Palm's licensees
and strategic partners, such as Franklin Covey, Handspring, IBM, Kyocera, Sony,
Symbol Technologies, and HandEra (formerly TRG). The Palm Economy is a growing
global community of industry-leading licensees, world-class OEM customers, and
approximately 170,000 innovative developers and solution providers that have
registered to develop solutions based on the Palm OS platform. Palm went public
on March 2, 2000. Its stock is traded on the Nasdaq national market under the
symbol PALM. More information is available at http://www.palm.com.
About Be Incorporated
Founded in 1990, Be Incorporated creates software solutions that enable rich
media and Web experiences on personal computers and Internet appliances. Be's
headquarters are in Menlo Park, California. It is publicly traded on the Nasdaq
National Market under the symbol BEOS. Be can be found on the Web at
http://www.be.com.
# # #
Palm OS is a registered trademark and Palm is a trademark of Palm, Inc. Other
brands may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Safe-harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements about the effect of the
acquisition of Be assets on Palm's platform business' future capabilities. These
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including Palm's ability to
successfully integrate Be's employees and technologies. For a discussion of
additional risks related to the acquisition, please see the section titled "Risk
Factors" contained in amendment No. 2 to Palm's registration statement on Form
S-4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 5, 2001.
CONTACTS:
Jenny Gispen-Schultz (media relations)
Palm, Inc. (media relations)
408.878.2453
jenny.gispen.schultz@corp.palm.com
Guillaume Perrotin (investor relations)
Be Incorporated
650.462.4100
perrotin@be.com