Open Text Announces Agreement To Invest In Communities.com
Open Text Expands Collaborative Capabilities with Advanced Chat and Interactive Communications
Waterloo, ON - 1999-08-18 - Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ:OTEX; TSE:OTC) today announced it has invested in Communities.com to own approximately 15% and has entered into a perpetual license agreement to use the company s advanced chat and interactive communications technology.
"The agreement with Communities.com will add to our dynamic messaging ability by providing Livelink users with more advanced capabilities when interacting with each other," says Tom Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer of Open Text Corporation. "The ability to conduct 'avatar' based chat, in conjunction with Livelink project spaces and document libraries, is a very compelling combination we are certain our users will enjoy."
"Our relationship with Open Text is a major strength for Communities.com and will provide us with support to continue to offer superior technology to our customers," says Larry Samuels, President and Chief Executive Officer of Communities.com. "Incorporating the visual chat technology of The Palace into the Livelink family of products grants Communities.com greater exposure to the corporate marketplace. We look forward to capitalizing on our partnership with Open Text in further development activities."
As part of the agreement, Open Text will designate Tom Jenkins, Open Text CEO, to be proposed to join the Communities.com board of directors.
Communities.com and its partners deliver over 100 million minutes of online usage per month. The average user spends over 3 hours per month visiting the thousands of The Palace sites worldwide.
About Communities.com
Communities.com, formerly Electric Communities, is the leader in online rich media communities. The company brings entertaining chat and interactive communications experiences to Internet users around the globe and furnishes its partners with tools to create and grow compelling online communities. Communities.com publishes The Palace visual chat software and OnLive! multi-voice chat technology. The Palace.com is the hub for the world s fastest-growing network of rich media visual communities. Hundreds of thousands of people meet, interact, work, play and learn at all hours through a global network of The Palace sites www.thepalace.com. With OnLive! Software, Communities.com offers powerful multi-voice chat and online conferencing. From rock groups to media and cable companies, from universities to multi-national corporations, Communities.com and its partners supply their customers with the most compelling visual and voice chat communities on the Internet. Partners include Comedy Central, SciFi Channel, Flirt.com, KoRn, TCI.net and the Association of Internet Professionals. The company is located in Cupertino, California.
Release Disclaimer
Copyright © 1999 by Open Text Corporation. Livelink is a registered trademark of Open Text Corporation. Open Text and HyperInnovation are trademarks of Open Text Corporation. Communities.com, The Palace, and OnLive! are registered trademarks of Communities.com. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. This news release may contain forward-looking statements relating to the deployment of Livelink by customers, and future performance of Open Text Corporation. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks involved in the completion and integration of acquisitions, the possibility of technical, logistical or planning issues in connection with deployments, the continuous commitment of the Company s customers and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the final prospectus for the company s initial public offering of common stock in January 1996, Form 10-K for the years ended June 30, 1997 and June 30, 1998, and Form 10-Q for the quarters ended September 30, 1998, December 31, 1998 and March 31, 1999. Forward-looking statements are based on management s beliefs and opinions at the time the statements are made, and the Company does not undertake any obligations to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management s beliefs or opinions change.
For more information, please contact
Michael Wakeman
V.P. Marketing
Communities.com
(408) 342-9500
Michael@communities.com
Terrell Karsten
Account Manager
Alexander Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide for Communities.com
(650) 566-1200 ext. 416
Tkarlsten@alexanderogilvy.com
Margaret E. Dobbin
Director, Industry Analyst Relations
Open Text Corporation
+1-519-888-7111 ext.2410
mdobbin@opentext.com
Sarah Burns
High Road Communications
(416) 368-8348
sburns@highrd.com
Lisa Dekker
Public Relations
Open Text Corporation
1+519-888-7111 ext. 2473
519-888-0677
ldekker@opentext.com
