ARCHIVE 2003

Network365 and iPIN merge

Dublin, Ireland and California, USA – 17th November 2003 - Network365 and iPIN today announced that they have agreed to combine their businesses in a merger to create the global leader in payments technology. The newly combined company, to be called Valista™, with the tagline ‘one choice for global payments™’, brings together Network365’s dominance in the Japanese and Asian markets and iPIN’s European and US leadership positions, while uniting the two companies’ complementary product sets. The merger, approved by the boards of both companies, is expected to be completed by January 2004 and will create the worldwide market leader in electronic and mobile payments technology.

On completion of the merger, Mr. Raomal Perera, currently CEO of Network365, will become Chief Executive Officer of Valista. Mr. Alexandre Gonthier, currently CEO of iPIN, will become Chief Strategy Officer and Mr. Andy DeMari, current chairman of Network365, will become chairman of the new company. The complete Valista board will include Raomal Perera and Kevin McGrath (Chief Financial Officer), Alexandre Gonthier and representatives from venture capital firms - Amadeus Capital Partners and Advent Venture Partners in the UK, Trinity Venture Capital in Ireland and Sutter Hill Ventures in the US.

Mr. Raomal Perera said, “Network365 has a strong presence in Asia and especially in Japan with a world-class customer base of leading mobile operators. iPIN has made significant inroads into the ISP and landline operator sector and is primarily focused on the US and European markets. The synergies between the companies are striking and this merger will fundamentally change the payments marketplace. Valista will have a broader customer reach and an expanded global footprint which will enable us to become the world leader in payments solutions and standards. Our vision is to grow the company so that wherever you are, and however you pay, the solution deployed will be based on Valista’s payments technology.”

Mr. Alexandre Gonthier said, “The merger of iPIN and Network365 is very exciting and will create what we believe will be the leading global provider of electronic and mobile payments technology. Both companies have experienced management teams, proven complementary products, a presence in key markets and wide global customer and partner bases. Valista is well positioned to exploit the opportunities in converged payments solutions among fixed line operators and ISPs as well as wireless operators.”

Industry analysts have reacted positively to the merger, viewing it as a significant event which will enable the growth of payments technology and the evolution of standards.

Adam Zawel, Director, Wireless / Mobile Enterprise & Commerce (WMEC) at the Yankee Group said, “This is a merger of two leading mobile commerce companies with complementary technologies, global customers and key partnerships. While Network365 has proven itself in Asia in the macro-payments space, iPIN has gained traction with its micro-payment solutions for operators and enterprises in the US and Europe. Given these synergies, Valista emerges as a leader in the provision of payments infrastructure for electronic and mobile commerce and is a catalyst for the evolution of payment standards in the industry.”

Network365 develops software that enables wireless operators, banks and enterprises to deploy mobile data solutions with mzone®, a comprehensive payments, multi-channel top-up and service delivery suite. Its award-winning mzone technology has been deployed in 18 countries and in multiple languages by key customers including NTT DoCOMo, 3, Hong Kong CSL, O2 ,Taito Corporation and TODO1 in the Americas. Network365 has offices in Ireland, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

iPIN’s Enterprise Payment Platform (EPP) is a single, multi-operator, interoperable, end-to-end platform that powers a variety of payment applications deployed by both operators and enterprise clients in the US and Europe. iPIN's customers and partners include Vodafone UK, France Telecom's w-HA, Orange and Wanadoo, T-Online and Tiscali in France, General Motors, Accenture, Cap Gemini Ernst and Young, Convergys and Gemplus.

Notes:
For more information, please contact:
Network365, Evanna Kearins
Marketing Communications Manager
Tel: +353 1 2764511/+353 87 2896579
Email: ekearins@network365.com

John Hurley
VP Marketing
Tel: +353 1 2764508
Email: jhurley@network365.com