Back
to Newsroom
OAKDALE, Minn. (June 30, 2003) — Imation Corp.
(NYSE: IMN), a worldwide leader in removable data storage media, today
announced it has entered into an agreement, subject to regulatory approval,
to purchase certain assets and intellectual property relating to removable
data storage tape media from EMTEC Magnetics GmbH, a German-based manufacturing
subsidiary of EMTEC International Holding GmbH. Since April 1st, 2003,
a court-appointed Insolvency Administrator under Germany’s Insolvency
Act has managed the affairs of EMTEC Magnetics GmbH. Financial details
of the agreement between Imation and EMTEC were not disclosed.
The agreement will enable Imation to ensure worldwide availability of
half-inch legacy tape products, such as 3480, 3490E and 9490EE tape
cartridges, to data center customers. "As a result of EMTEC's insolvency
filing, there have been some limitations in the availability of raw
materials which has caused temporary supply restrictions of legacy products
to the market," said Ron Zinke, vice president and general manager,
Imation’s Data Storage Media and Services business. "There
is a large base of customers who rely on these legacy products for storage
of their mission critical data and this supply interruption has caused
problems in their data center operations. By making this investment,
Imation will be able to expedite the resumption of supply and ensure
long-term availability of these legacy products to our global customers."
"Our agreement to purchase certain assets and intellectual property
from EMTEC demonstrates Imation’s commitment to provide superior
service and support to our data center customers and to invest in our
core removable media business. At Imation, our goal is, and has always
been, to help customers better manage their data center operations,
and we believe this agreement will provide significant value to our
customers by ensuring the continued availability of legacy tape products
in the foreseeable future,” added Zinke.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, as well as other
customary conditions. Subject to these approvals, Imation expects the
transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2003.
About Imation
Imation Corp. is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of magnetic
and optical removable data storage media. With one of the broadest product
lines in the industry—spanning from a few megabytes to hundreds
of gigabytes of capacity in each piece of media, Imation serves customers
in more than 60 countries, in both business and consumer markets. From
large data centers to distributed networks, Imation's tape cartridges
are used in data processing, security, business continuity, backup and
archiving applications. Customer needs for reliability, convenience
and portability to store and manage business data, photos, video, images
and music on professional and home desktops and increasingly in consumer
electronics devices drive demand for Imation's optical and diskette
products. With more than 300 technology scientists and more than 300
data storage patents in the U.S. alone, Imation continues to pioneer
today's proven magnetic and optical media technologies.
As of March 31, 2003, Imation employed approximately 2,800 people worldwide.
Revenues from outside the U.S. contribute approximately 54 percent of
total sales. Additional information about Imation is available by calling
1.888.466.3456
Imation and the Imation logo are trademarks of Imation. All other
trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.
Certain information contained in this press release, which does not
relate to historical financial information, including the Business Outlook,
may be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements
are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the
Company’s actual results in the future to differ materially from
its historical results and those presently anticipated or projected.
Among these factors are continuing uncertainty in global economic and
political conditions that make it particularly difficult to predict
product demand, the Company’s ability to meet its cost reduction
and revenue growth targets, its ability to implement its restructuring
programs for the estimated costs on a timely basis and to achieve the
projected benefits, its ability to introduce new offerings in a timely
manner either independently or in association with OEMs or other third
parties, the competitive pricing environment, foreign currency fluctuations,
the outcome of litigation, the ability of Imation to secure adequate
supply of certain high demand products, the ready availability and price
of energy, the market acceptance of newly introduced offerings, the
rate of decline for certain existing products as well as various factors
set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
 |
|
