SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June
13, 2005--Macrovision® Corporation (Nasdaq:
MVSN -
News), the
leader in Software Value Management, today announced that it
has acquired privately-held Zero G Software, Inc. of San
Francisco, Calif. Zero G is a leading provider of software
deployment and delivery solutions for multi-platform
operating system environments. Financial terms of the
agreement were not disclosed, but Macrovision stated that
the transaction would be EPS neutral in 2005, and accretive
in 2006.
"The combined expertise of Zero G and Macrovision will provide
software publishers and their customers with a seamless software
installation experience across all platforms," stated Dan Stickel,
EVP/GM, Software Technologies Group, Macrovision. "This acquisition
further increases the market for our Software Value Management
solutions, adds innovative technology and people to the company and
enhances our multi-platform products."
"Software is facing a complexity crisis. With this agreement, two
leaders in installation and software deployment have joined forces to
simplify the installation of software in complex multi-platform,
multi-server environments," stated Eric N. Shapiro, CEO of Zero G.
"Zero G's enterprise-focused multi-platform installation products will
complement and enhance Macrovision's industry-leading InstallShield®
solutions, which are the de facto standard for Windows installations.
In addition, Zero G customers will benefit from Macrovision's broad
Software Value Management platform that enables publishers to flexibly
price, package, license, protect and update their software
applications."
Software installations are a critical factor in the overall value
of software derived by customers. According to IBM Autonomic Computing
research, 28% of all application failures are related to installation
and configuration errors. The combination of Zero G and Macrovision
technologies will benefit customers by simplifying the installation
and management of enterprise software, offering the industry's premier
installation experience on every platform. Both Macrovision and Zero G
have been at the forefront of solutions for complex software
installation and have worked closely with key standards bodies and
industry partners including OASIS, WC3, IBM, HP and others to
establish standards in the industry such as the Solution Deployment
Descriptor Specification (SDD), also known as "Solution Installation."
"Enterprises are continually seeking new ways to reduce the total
cost of managing, updating and installing software. Streamlining these
processes starts with simplifying the management of large,
interdependent software solutions running in increasingly complex IT
environments," stated Audrey Rasmussen, vice president, Enterprise
Management Associates. "By bringing Zero G into the fold, Macrovision
can quickly deliver more value to both ISVs and their enterprise
customers by automating time-consuming and error-prone manual software
management processes."
Zero G Software will become part of Macrovision's Software
Technologies Group and expand Macrovision's product portfolio in the
Software Value Management category. Macrovision will continue to
provide support for all Zero G products. For more information on the
strategic rationale for the acquisition and a list of FAQs, please
visit the Macrovision website at www.macrovision.com.
About Zero G Software
Zero G expertise and leadership drives innovation in enterprise
software management, and transforms the way companies deploy, deliver,
and configure applications. The recognized leader in multi-platform
software deployment since 1996, Zero G's award-winning line of
enterprise-class products includes InstallAnywhere, the de facto
standard for multi-platform installation; and SolutionArchitect, the
first software packaging solution for distributed enterprise
applications. Zero G solutions and services are relied upon by
thousands of the world's top commercial software producers, including
IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Novell, Borland, and Sun Microsystems.
For more information, visit www.ZeroG.com.
About Macrovision
Macrovision Corporation is the market leader in electronic
licensing, installation, and digital rights management (DRM)
technologies. Over 50,000 software publishers and virtually all of the
Fortune 1000 companies use Macrovision's technologies to maximize the
value of their software. Software Value Management solutions bridge
the gap between pricing and packaging software on the developer side,
and purchasing and managing that software on the enterprise side.
Macrovision's Software Technologies Group markets the FLEXnet(TM)
universal licensing platform and the InstallShield suite of software
installation, repackaging and update solutions, which are deployed on
more than 500 million desktops worldwide. Macrovision holds more than
860 software licensing, DRM and content protection patents worldwide.
Macrovision is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and has
offices worldwide. More information about Macrovision and Software
Value Management solutions can be found at www.macrovision.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements as that
term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, including the quotations attributed to Messrs. Stickel and
Shapiro regarding the expected benefits and synergies of the
transactions. These forward-looking statements include statements
regarding the completion and financial effects of the expected
acquisition of Zero G, the business strategies and product plans of
both companies, the advantages of the acquisition for both companies,
the features and benefits of the products of both companies, and the
cooperative efforts to be undertaken by both companies. A number of
factors could cause Macrovision's actual results to differ from
anticipated results expressed in such forward-looking statements,
including the ability of Macrovision to integrate the operations and
administration of the companies effectively and efficiently; the
ability of the companies to achieve operational and other business
synergies; the effect of the acquisition on the suppliers, customers
and other business partners of the companies; and the costs associated
with integration; and the timely development and market acceptance of
new and updated products. Other factors are addressed in Macrovision's
reports that are filed from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (available at www.sec.gov), including but not
limited to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2004 and the latest Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period
ended March 31, 2005. Macrovision assumes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Macrovision Corporation
George Monk, 408-743-8600 (Investor)
ir-info@macrovision.com
Gerold Franke, 847-466-4300 (Media)
pr-info@macrovision.com
or
LaunchSquad
Jason Mandell or Jesse Odell, 415-625-8555 (Media)
mvsn@launchsquad.com