99.01
VeriSign Completes Acquisition of Illuminet Holdings, Inc.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, December 12, 2001 - VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the
leading provider of digital trust services, today announced the completion of
its acquisition of Olympia, WA-based Illuminet Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ILUM), a
leading provider of intelligent network and signaling services to communications
carriers. VeriSign previously announced a definitive agreement to acquire
Illuminet on September 24, 2001.
The combined capabilities and resources of VeriSign and Illuminet include an IP
data infrastructure that serves 6.5 million customers and handles more than 5
billion daily connections and transactions and a SS7 network that provides
critical call set-up, routing and telephony services to 900 telecommunications
companies.
Conference Call:
VeriSign will host a conference call at 7:30 a.m. (Pacific) on Thursday,
December 13, 2001, to discuss the Illuminet closing. A listen-only live
broadcast of the conference call will be available at www.verisign.com. The live
----------------
teleconference can also be accessed by direct dial at (800) 810-0924. A replay
of the teleconference will also be available at (888) 203-1112 (passcode:
753490) beginning at 10:30am (Pacific) on December 13, 2001 and running through
December 20, 2001.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRSN) is the leading provider of digital trust services
that enable everyone, everywhere to engage in commerce and communications with
confidence. VeriSign's digital trust services create a trusted environment
through three core offerings-Web identity, authentication and payment services
- -powered by a global infrastructure that manages more than 5 billion network
connections and transactions a day. Additional news and information about the
company is available at www.verisign.com.
----------------
About Illuminet
Founded in 1981, Illuminet (NASDAQ:ILUM) is a leading provider of advanced
nationwide signaling and intelligent network services to the communications
industry. Connection to the Illuminet network gives carriers access to the
system of signaling networks of nearly the entire U.S. public-switched
telecommunications infrastructure through a single source. Illuminet specializes
in SS7 network services and intelligent network solutions for services such as
calling name delivery, calling card validation, domestic and international
wireless roaming, wireless clearing, number portability, network usage
measurement, network management, Operations Support System (OSS) interconnection
services, toll-free and other specialized database access functions. The company
also provides prepaid wireless services, including real-time account management,
through its subsidiary National Telemanagement Corporation, based in Dallas, TX.
Illuminet's headquarters are at 4501 Intelco Loop SE, Lacey, WA 98503; (360)
493-6000; www.illuminet.com.
-----------------
Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's
actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such
forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among
others: VeriSign's limited operating history under its current business
structure; the risk that the VeriSign and Illuminet businesses will not be
integrated successfully and unanticipated costs of such integration; uncertainty
of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations in quarterly
operating results; failure of the combined company to retain and hire key
executives, technical personnel and other employees; failure of the combined
company to manage its growth and the difficulty of successfully managing a
larger, more geographically dispersed organization; failure of the combined
company to successfully manage relationships with customers, suppliers and
strategic customers; network outages, network capacity constraints or security
breaches; failure of the combined company's customers to accept new services or
to continue using the products and services of the combined company; and
competition in the various markets serviced by the combined company. More
information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and
financial results is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, especially in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2000, Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed on
October 10, 2001 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March
31, June 30, 2001 and September 30, 2001. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to
update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press
release.
VeriSign is a registered trademark of VeriSign, Inc. Other names may be
trademarks of their respective owners.
Contact Media Relations: Cheryl Regan, cregan@verisign.com, 703/948-4472
-------------------
Investor Relations: Katie Ochsner, kochsner@verisign.com, 650-426-3512
---------------------