- Divestitures Allow VIA to Focus on Key Markets
- VIA also Reports Acquisition of former KPNQwest Swiss Customer Base
RESTON, VA (August 19, 2002) -- VIA NET.WORKS, Inc. (NASDAQ and EASE: VNWI) today announced the sale of its Irish subsidiary, VIA NET.WORKS Ireland Limited to a group that includes the former managing director of the Irish operation. As a part of the sale transaction, VIA's UK operation will provide transition services to VIA NET.WORKS Ireland for a period of up to nine months. Although VIA will no longer have any ownership interest in the operation, the company will continue to trade under the name VIA NET.WORKS Ireland for up to nine months to allow for a smooth branding transition. In a manner similar to the divestiture of its Brazilian, Argentine and Austrian businesses earlier this year, VIA sold the entire capital stock of its Irish subsidiary.
“The sale of our Irish operations represents further progress in our turnaround plan that is focused on reducing cash burn and driving the company towards profitability,” said Karl Maier, President, Chief Operating Officer and acting Chief Executive Officer, VIA NET.WORKS. Maier further noted, “The disposition of these operations will permit us to enhance our focus on VIA’s core markets as well as to pursue our operational and financial objectives."
In other news, VIA also reported that its wholly owned subsidiary, VIA NET.WORKS Services AG, has recently acquired the exclusive rights to market to and continue providing services to KPNQwest’s customers in Switzerland. KPNQwest’s Swiss operations were placed in bankruptcy in June. Franz Grueter, Managing Director of VIA’s Swiss operations stated: “We are extremely pleased by our progress to date in converting former KPNQwest customers to VIA services. The customers have been very receptive to our service offerings and capabilities. We believe that this is a meaningful deal for VIA Switzerland as it will more than double our existing revenue base and add to our operating profitability.”
“This is just one of several opportunities VIA has been pursuing to acquire valuable customers, revenue, assets and cash flow from distressed telecommunications companies,” said Maier. “We believe the KPNQwest Switzerland transaction will add at least $4 million in annual, profitable revenue to our strong Swiss business. We anticipate that additional acquisition opportunities may become available in the near future. We intend to take advantage of our strong cash position and low debt to aggressively pursue deals that immediately enhance our financial position.
About VIA NET.WORKS, Inc.
VIA NET.WORKS, Inc. (Nasdaq and EASE: VNWI) is a single-source provider of managed Internet services for businesses, with operations in North America and Europe.
VIA local operations offer a comprehensive portfolio of flexible and reliable managed Internet services encompassing areas such as connectivity, hosting, security, messaging, and professional services. VIA is a facilities-based Internet services company, managing its own backbone network. This unique combination - the agility of a local, customer-focused company and the reliability of an international high-speed network - allows VIA to be highly responsive to specific customer needs and to deliver quality solutions. VIA is headquartered at 12100 Sunset Hills Road, Reston, Virginia, USA, 20190. More information about VIA can be obtained by visiting our website at www.vianetworks.com.
Statements in this press release regarding VIA's business that are not historical facts, including but not limited to statements regarding our turnaround plan, benefit from dispositions, future acquisition opportunities, projected revenues from the KPNQwest customer base and projected profitability, are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include unanticipated integration issues and costs associated with acquisitions, unanticipated issues arising out of the disposition of our operations, both of which could distract management from its core business and impact projected revenues and profitability and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2002.