Denver, CO/PR Newswire - June 01, 2006
The Acquisition Creates a Single Company Able to Meet the
Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection Needs of Global Brand Owners
Both in the Online and Supply Chain Environments.
OpSec Security, Inc. ("OpSec"), a division of Applied Optical
Technologies plc (London AIM: ALT) today announced the signing of a
definitive agreement to acquire GenuOne, Inc., a Boston,
Massachusetts-based provider of brand protection management solutions.
OpSec will acquire GenuOne for $13 million in cash. The transaction is
expected to close in mid-June 2006.
OpSec is a pre-eminent provider of anti-counterfeiting technologies
and services to over 100 governments and corporations worldwide.
OpSec's products allow its corporate clients to authenticate and to
track products from counterfeiting and diversion. Governments use OpSec
technologies to guard against counterfeiting of currency, passports,
drivers' licenses, licenses, and other government documents.
GenuOne is a provider of anti-counterfeiting and anti-diversion
software products which enable brand owners to monitor and protect
their products and brands across a range of online environments,
including auction sites, retail and wholesale internet exchanges, and
business to business boards where significant sale of counterfeit
products occurs. GenuOne also provides product tagging and tracking
services to customers. GenuOne currently serves 45 major global brands
including XEROX, New Balance Athletic Shoes, Intel, Cisco, Richemont
Group and Dell.
"There is a strong need for consolidation in the brand protection
marketplace," said Randall Nelson, General Manager, Consumables Brand
Protection for Xerox Corporation. "To date, this industry has been
fragmented, requiring companies like ours to seek multiple vendors to
satisfy our product protection requirements. AOT's multinational
presence and ability to deploy product marking solutions, combined with
GenuOne's professional services and software solutions bring value to
companies looking for a comprehensive, integrated solution to address
their brand protection needs."
Commenting on the acquisition, Mark Turnage, Chief Executive
Officer, said: "The acquisition of GenuOne is of fundamental importance
to our brand protection business and is consistent with our objective
to leverage and extend our industry leadership position."
"As counterfeiting and diversion of products becomes more prevalent
in the global economy, the needs of brand owners to combat these
activities grow exponentially. The combination of OpSec's overt and
covert tracking products with GenuOne's software and tracking
technologies, creates a single company able to meet the needs of brand
owners in both the online and supply chain environments. The ability to
provide this range of services is unique in the industry."
"In addition to expanding the range of products supplied by OpSec,
the acquisition of GenuOne adds a significant number of global brands
as new customers. The strong management and operating team at GenuOne
will further enhance OpSec operating management. This acquisition is
very good news for OpSec, its customers, employees and partners. It is
very bad news for counterfeiters."
