Acquisition of Soundpath®
Conferencing Services Accelerates PGI’s
Vertical Application Strategy
Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE: PGI), a global provider of
on-demand business process improvement solutions, today announced that
it has acquired the assets of Soundpath Conferencing Services, LLC, a
leading provider of conferencing services to the legal industry. The
purchase price of approximately $20.1 million was funded with Premiere
Global’s credit facility.
Washington, DC-based Soundpath, a wholesale partner of Premiere Global’s
Conferencing & Collaboration Solutions since 2002, has an established
customer base that includes approximately 40% of the top 200 law firms
in North America. The acquisition is projected to be accretive to
Premiere Global’s revenues and earnings
beginning in the fourth quarter of 2008.
“The acquisition of Soundpath is a smart move
for Premiere Global,” said Elliot Gold,
President of TeleSpan Publishing Corporation. “Soundpath
has done an incredible job of winning over the largest legal firms in
North America by offering them the highest quality service on their
important client calls, coupled with time-saving methods to reduce back
office expense and increase bottom line profitability. With them on
board, I see Premiere Global replicating Soundpath's model to enter
exciting new vertical industries.”
“Soundpath brings us deep understanding of
the vibrant and growing legal industry,” said
Boland T. Jones, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Premiere Global Services,
Inc. “We look to leverage their relationships
and significant expertise to introduce new PGi Communications Operating
System applications targeted at this and other professional services
verticals in the coming quarters.”
About Premiere Global Services, Inc.
Premiere Global Services, Inc. is a global provider of on-demand,
communication technologies-based business process improvement solutions.
Our Premiere Global Communications Operating System supports business
applications within the following solution sets: Conferencing &
Collaboration, Desktop Document Solutions, Enterprise Document
Solutions, Notifications & Reminders, and eMarketing.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and with presence in 23 countries
worldwide, Premiere Global delivers solutions to an established customer
base of over 50,000 companies, including nearly 95% of the Fortune
500. Additional information can be found at PremiereGlobal.com.
Statements made in this press release, other than those concerning
historical information, should be considered forward-looking and subject
to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are
made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are made based on management's current
expectations or beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information
currently available to, management. A variety of factors could cause
actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in Premiere
Global Services' forward-looking statements, including, but not limited
to, the following factors: competitive pressures, including pricing
pressures; technological change; the development of alternatives to our
services; market acceptance of our new services and enhancements;
integration of acquired companies; service interruptions; increased
financial leverage; our dependence on our subsidiaries for cash flow;
continued weakness in our legacy broadcast fax business; foreign
currency exchange rates; possible adverse results of pending or future
litigation or infringement claims; federal or state legislative or
regulatory changes; general domestic and international economic,
business or political conditions; and other factors described from time
to time in our press releases, reports and other filings with the SEC,
including but not limited the "Risk Factors" sections of our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and our
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2008 and
June 30, 2008. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or a
person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by
this cautionary statement.
Premiere Global Services, Inc.
Investor
Calls
Sean O’Brien, 404-262-8462
Senior
Vice President
Strategic Planning & IR
