Microsoft Word 10.0.2627;CONTACT: Elan Yaish
Chief Financial Officer
Telephone: (631) 951-7060
Fax: (631) 951-7639
Email: eyaish@mecnet.com
MANCHESTER TECHNOLOGIES SELLS ITS IT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES BUSINESS TO ePLUS
ePlus Purchases Certain Assets and Assumes Manchester Technologies' IT Product
and Services Activities
HAUPPAUGE, NY, May 28, 2004 - Manchester Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: MANC),
today announced that it has sold its IT fulfillment, professional services, and
enterprise software development and operations consulting businesses to ePlus,
inc. (Nasdaq NM: PLUS), a leading provider of Enterprise Cost Management, in an
all cash transaction. The transaction involves the sale to ePlus of the customer
list of these businesses and certain related equipment, the assumption by ePlus
of certain contracts and liabilities pertaining to these businesses, the hiring
by ePlus of a number of Manchester employees involved in the businesses, and an
option to purchase certain inventory of the businesses to be determined at a
subsequent date. The transaction does not include, and Manchester will be
retaining, the balance of the inventory and all of the accounts receivable of
these businesses. The other terms and the potential financial effect of the
transaction were not disclosed.
Barry R. Steinberg, Manchester's Chairman and CEO, said, "We are extremely
pleased with the agreement that we have reached with ePlus. The sale to ePlus of
our IT product and service business will enable us to focus our resources on our
Electrograph operations. Electrograph is a dominant player in the display
technology market, and we believe that this market will continue to grow in the
years to come. We thank our many IT customers for their years of loyalty to our
Company, and we are confident that ePlus will provide them with the same high
level of service that they have come to expect from Manchester."
Phillip G. Norton, chairman, president and CEO of ePlus, "This acquisition gives
us an established presence in key new markets and adds valuable customer
relationships. At the same time, it gives us access to this customer base to
offer ePlus software and services as a solution for their electronic
procurement, content management and asset management needs."
About Manchester Technologies, Inc.
Manchester Technologies, Inc. is a single-source solutions provider specializing
in display technology, and, prior to the transactions referenced in this
release, hardware and software procurement, custom networking, security, IP
telephony, remote management, application development/e-commerce, storage,
enterprise and Internet solutions. Manchester offers a complete line of products
and peripherals for customers' display technology requirements. More information
about the Company can be obtained by visiting the Company's website located at
http://www.emanchester.com.
About ePlus, inc. A leading provider of Enterprise Cost Management, ePlus
provides a comprehensive solution to reduce the costs of purchasing, owning, and
financing goods and services. ePlus Enterprise Cost Management (eECM) packages
business process outsourcing, eProcurement, asset management, product and
catalog content management, supplier enablement, strategic sourcing, financial
services and document access and collaboration into a single integrated
solution, all based on ePlus' leading business application software. Profitable
since inception in 1990, the company is headquartered in Herndon, VA, and has
more than 30 locations in the U.S. For more information, visit www.eplus.com,
call 888-482-1122 or email info@eplus.com.
ePlus, ePlus Enterprise Cost Management, and/or other ePlus products referenced
herein are either registered trademarks or trademarks of ePlus inc. in the U.S.
and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned
herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: This press release includes information that may constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws.
All statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without
limitation, those with respect to Manchester Technologies, Inc.'s objectives,
plans and strategies set forth herein and those preceded by or that include the
words "believes," "intends," "expects," "will," "plans," "anticipates," or
similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Manchester's actual
results may differ materially from the results discussed herein as a result of a
number of unknown factors, including, without limitation, there being no
assurance that Manchester will not be adversely affected by continued intense
competition in the display technology industry, continued deterioration in
average selling prices of display technologies, a decrease in the growth of the
display technology market, a lack of product availability, deterioration in
relationships with major manufacturers, a loss or decline in sales to any of its
major customers, or any of the other risks set forth in Manchester's Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2003, and those set forth from
time to time in Manchester's other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Manchester assumes no obligation to update any of the information
referenced in this press release. These documents are available through the
Company, or through the Securities and Exchange Commission's Electronic Data
Gathering Analysis and Retrieval system (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov.