SEP 19,2003 17:42 PACIFIC 20:42 EASTERN
( BW)(CO-MCDATA)(MCDTA)(MCDT) McDATA Completes Acquisition of Nishan
Systems
Business Editors/High-Tech Writers
BROOMFIELD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2003--McDATA
Corporation (Nasdaq: MCDTA/MCDT) today announced the completion of its
acquisition of Nishan Systems, the world's first supplier of native IP
storage networking solutions.
The Nishan transaction accelerates McDATA's vision as well as the
time to market of IP solutions and inter-networking capabilities.
McDATA's inter-networking solutions scale storage networks within data
centers, across campuses and across geographies. The solutions also
interconnect storage networks across multiple technologies including
Fibre Channel, iFCP, Ethernet/ IP LANs and IP MAN/WANs. No other
vendor delivers this complete range of solutions.
McDATA's inter-networking capabilities are proven applications
that enable customers to deliver storage services across the
enterprise and to reap the following advantages:
-- Distance solutions utilizing iFCP technology - enables secure,
cost effective business continuance and disaster recovery
solutions;
-- Multi-protocol SAN routing - allows customers to scale their
infrastructures by interconnecting multi-vendor SAN islands
while preserving reliability, security and manageability;
-- iSCSI solutions - provides cost effective aggregation of SAN
islands for low-cost servers, leveraging customers existing
investment in IP.
McDATA's IP storage switches provide cost effective,
high-performance connectivity for remote SANs over virtually any
distance and its multi-protocol storage switches support iSCSI and
iFCP connectivity today. The switches are qualified with all major
storage platforms, including EMC, HDS, HP, IBM, Sun, StorageTek,
XIOtech and LSI Logic. Under the terms of the acquisition agreement,
McDATA has acquired Nishan Systems for $83 million in cash and has
assumed approximately $2 million of Nishan debt.
In addition to Nishan Systems, McDATA announced the planned
acquisition of Sanera Systems, which is expected to close within the
next 30 days, and has made an investment in Aarohi Communications.
McDATA has commissioned a valuation study for both acquisitions, and
anticipates one-time charges in the third quarter of fiscal 2003. When
integrated with McDATA, these acquisitions and investment allow
customers to seamlessly build and grow their storage services
infrastructure across the dimensions of scalability, inter-networking
and intelligence.
About McDATA (www.mcdata.com)
McDATA (Nasdaq: MCDTA/MCDT) is the expert provider of
Multi-Capable Storage Networking Solutions(TM) -- hardware, software
and services -- that enable partners and customers around the world to
reduce the total cost of storage management today, and be ready to
adapt to the real-time information demands of tomorrow. Entrenched in
over 8,000 data centers worldwide, McDATA solutions are at the heart
of more than 80 percent of Fortune 100 storage network data centers,
powering the latest e-business applications, customer databases,
financial traffic and other mission-critical data. Customers leverage
McDATA's multi-capable solutions to realize immediate cost savings,
reduce their investment risk, ensure the continuity of their
operations and adapt to changing business requirements.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements about expected future
events that are forward-looking and subject to risks and
uncertainties. Readers are urged to consider statements that include
the terms "believes", "belief", "expects", "plans", "objectives",
"estimates", "anticipates", "intends", "targets", or the like to be
uncertain and forward-looking. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ and vary materially from expectations include, but are not
limited to, our ability to ramp SANavigator sales, our relationships
with EMC Corporation and IBM and the level of their orders, the impact
of the continued general economic slowdown on purchasing decisions by
customers and capital spending, our ability to expand sales into
higher margin channels through system integrators and distributors, a
loss of any of our key customers (or our OEMs' key customers),
distributors, resellers or our contract manufacturers, our ability to
expand our product offerings and any transition to new products, (such
as higher port count and multi-protocol products) integrate recent
acquisitions and OEM qualification of such new products which may
occur after the general availability dates, possible inventory charges
that may occur with any transition to such new products, component
quality and availability, the development of the storage area network
and switch markets, competition in the storage area network and switch
markets, aggressive pricing and product give-aways by competitors,
one-time events and other important risk factors disclosed previously
and from time to time in our filings at the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. These cautionary statements by us should not be
construed as exhaustive or as any admission regarding the adequacy of
disclosures made by us. We cannot always predict or determine after
the fact what factors would cause actual results to differ materially
from those indicated by the forward-looking statements or other
statements. All cautionary statements should be read as being
applicable to all forward-looking statements wherever they appear. We
do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
--30--DJM/dx*
CONTACT: McDATA
Media:
Kathleen Sullivan, 720-558-4435
cell: 720-480-5501
kathleen.sullivan@mcdata.com
or
Ryan Batty, 720-558-3934
ryan.batty@mcdata.com
or
Investors:
Linda Dellett/Kevin Mammel, 720-558-4474
Investor.relations@mcdata.com
KEYWORD: COLORADO TRACK
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKING SOFTWARE HARDWARE
MERGERS/ACQ INTERNET
SOURCE: McDATA
REPEATS: New York 212-752-9600 or 800-221-2462; Boston 617-236-4266 or
800-225-2030; SF 415-986-4422 or 800-227-0845; LA 310-820-9473