Wavecom Corrects Certain Statements by Gemalto
20 Novembre 2008 - 1:10PM
Business Wire
Regulatory News: Wavecom (Paris:AVM) (NASDAQ:WVCM), a leading
provider of embedded wireless technology for M2M communication,
remains confident in the future prospects of the M2M market, the
ability of Wavecom to retain and develop its role as a leading
player in this market and reiterates its opposition to the hostile
takeover bid from Gemalto. Gemalto�s public communications in the
last 48 hours (notably interviews given by Olivier Piou on November
18 on BFM radio and to Reuters) contain information including
inaccuracies which, in the interest of Wavecom�s shareholders, need
to be corrected. Gemalto�s offer cannot be lowered In his interview
with Reuters, Olivier Piou stated regarding the Offer price of
Gemalto: �I could have lowered it on the back of the poor Q3
results and I could have lowered it because of the fall in the
stock market�. Wavecom is surprised by this comment, because the
irrevocability principle for offers in France does not allow the
lowering of the price of a public offer in the circumstances stated
above. Gemalto is trying to buy Wavecom at a price, which is not
considered by the Board to be attractive In its Schedule 14D-9 (as
amended, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission) and
its response document (�Note en R�ponse� as declared conform by the
Autorit� des March�s Financiers (the �AMF�) on November 13, 2008),
Wavecom�s Board demonstrates the undervaluation of Gemalto�s Offer.
For example, Wavecom considers that Gemalto�s Offer is not
attractive since it represents a discount of 23% to 37% to the
Company�s implied valuation range of 9.1 euros to 11.1 euros per
share based on the multiples paid in the Siemens Wireless Modules
transaction1 (by far the most comparable transaction, see Wavecom�s
�Note en R�ponse� p20). Given the above, the statement from Olivier
Piou on BFM radio, relative to the current Offer of 7 euros per
share, that Wavecom shareholders should �take it or leave it�, is
illustrative of a close-minded attitude towards Wavecom and its
shareholders. Wavecom regrets that Gemalto has chosen to go down
this unconstructive path. Wavecom is surprised by the comments of
Olivier Piou on Wavecom strategy and positioning Thanks to its
overall strategy, Wavecom has achieved one of its corporate goals
by becoming a widely-recognised leader in its chosen field of M2M
communications and is well-positioned to take full advantage, in
the best interests of all stakeholders, of the future and exciting
prospects of the market. Given that Gemalto has itself decided to
acquire Wavecom and recognised Wavecom�s role as �one of the main
suppliers of smart technology� with �a clear strategy aiming at
significantly developing its services offering�, taking advantage
of a �strategic position on a market with strong growth potential�
(Gemalto Information Document as declared conform by the AMF on
October 24), Wavecom considers Olivier Piou�s recent remarks
regarding Wavecom�s strategy to be unnecessarily argumentative and
in contradiction with Gemalto�s previous statements. Ronald Black,
Wavecom CEO concluded �I am surprised and disappointed in Gemalto�s
tone in its recent communication and it is within my mandate as CEO
and Board Member of Wavecom to work toward delivering more value to
our shareholders than Gemalto�s current offer.� Wavecom � the
wireless M2M experts Wavecom is a leading provider of embedded
wireless technology for M2M (machine-to-machine) communication. We
provide a range of GSM/GPRS, CDMA, EDGE and 3G Wireless CPUs;
programmable processors which also act as wireless modules or
wireless modems. These are backed by a C and Lua-based cellular
wireless software suite which includes a real-time operating system
(RTOS), a software development environment based on Eclipse�, and
several Plug-Ins (GPS, TCP/IP, security, Bluetooth�, Lua script and
more). We also offer a wide range of professional and operated
services. Our solutions are used for automotive telematics, smart
metering, fleet management, GSM/GPS/satellite tracking, wireless
alarms, wireless POS (point of sales), WLL (fixed voice), remote
monitoring and many other M2M applications. Founded in 1993 and
headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux (France) near Paris, Wavecom
has subsidiaries in Hong Kong (PRC), Research Triangle Park, NC
(USA), Farnborough (UK), Munich (Germany) and Sao Paolo (Brazil).
Wavecom is publicly traded on Euronext Paris (Eurolist) in France
and on the NASDAQ (WVCM) exchange in the U.S.
http://www.wavecom.com This press release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities
Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of
1934, which are not historical facts. Such forward-looking
statements are based on the beliefs of Wavecom�s management as well
as assumptions made by and information currently available to them.
Actual results may vary significantly from those contemplated by
these forward-looking statements based on a variety of factors.
Words such as "outlook," �potential,� �emerging,� �growth�,
"anticipates," "expects," "believes," "intends," "plans,"
"continuing," "seeks," "forecasts," "estimates," "goal," and
similar expressions often identify such forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without
limitation, statements regarding the future of the M2M industry,
the SIM card industry and other industries, future economic and
market conditions, the future performance of Wavecom and Gemalto,
the promise of Wavecom�s strategic initiatives, Wavecom�s business
pipeline, projections and assumptions underlying Wavecom�s
financial analysis of its value and the offer, and the future value
of Wavecom�s tax assets. All forward-looking statements are
qualified by these cautionary statements and are made only as of
the date they are made. Important factors that may cause such
differences include, but are not limited to, those described in
Wavecom's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2007, in the sections entitled �Item 3. Key
Information � Risk Factors� and �Item 5. Operating and Financial
Review and Prospects.� Further risks and uncertainties associated
with Gemalto�s unsolicited proposal to acquire Wavecom include: the
risk that key employees may pursue other employment opportunities
due to concerns as to their employment security with Wavecom; the
risk that the acquisition proposal will make it more difficult for
Wavecom to execute its strategic plan and pursue other strategic
opportunities; the risk that the future trading price of our common
stock is likely to be volatile and could be subject to wide price
fluctuations; the risk that Wavecom may be unable to secure
superior value as a stand-alone company or by pursuing other
strategic alternatives; and the risk that stockholder litigation in
connection with the Gemalto's unsolicited proposal, or otherwise,
may result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and
liability. All forward-looking statements are qualified by these
cautionary statements and are made only as of the date they are
made. Wavecom shareholders are urged to read Wavecom's �Note en
r�ponse� and its Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule
14D-9 as they contain important information. The �Note en r�ponse�
and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement and other public
filings made from time to time by the Company are available without
charge from, respectively, the AMF�s website at www.amf-france.org
or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, and at www.wavecom.com. 1
Source: estimates of the transaction value from Mergermarket�: ��an
undisclosed consideration estimated to be in the range of EUR 150
to 200m��
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