Cellport's Board Votes for Divestiture of Its Automotive Business
BOULDER, Colo., April 16 -- The Board of Directors of Cellport Systems, a leading provider of automotive wireless communications technologies and products, today voted to focus its efforts on developing and promulgating solutions for in-vehicle wireless connectivity and to transition out of the business of directly providing product to the automotive industry.
``We are proud of the jump start we've given the Cellport Hands-Free System through contract wins with the Ford Motor Company, Nissan Infiniti Q45 and additional contracts that are pending announcement. Our core competency, however, is in architectures and product development, and we believe our automotive customers will be better served by obtaining product directly from existing Tier 1 Automotive Suppliers who are better organized to service and support these customers.'' Cellport projects automotive revenues for 2002 to exceed $10 million. ``We will work directly with our automotive customers to assure a seamless transition to a new supplier. Given the strong interest in our automotive line of business, we are confident that a sale will take place within weeks,'' said Andy Quartner, Vice Chairman and General Counsel of Cellport.
A practical and proven solution for both current and future wireless phones, the Cellport Universal Hands-Free System with voice-recognition dialing is widely recognized as the most advanced, full-featured universal portable phone connectivity system for cars available today. Speaker-independent voice recognition reduces driver distractions by enabling a driver to operate a wireless phone without having to look at or touch it. A key motivator of the automotive manufacturers, and consumers interest in a universal hands-free system for vehicles, is legislative mandates calling for hands free operation of wireless phones in vehicles in over 30 countries and the State of New York.
The company's unique phone-specific Pocket Adapters make it possible to use more than one wireless phone with an installed Cellport Hands-Free System, allowing many users with different phones, or even different wireless service providers or systems, to access all the benefits of voice-activated, hands-free operation. When a new wireless phone is purchased in the future, only the Pocket Adapter needs to be changed.
Cellport's automotive contracts have outstripped its existing operational, engineering and capital resources. In preparation for the sale of automotive contracts and business resources, Cellport has reduced its automotive, engineering and production staff. ``Divestiture of our automotive business will give Cellport more resources to concentrate on our Cellport Global Partners Program and Open Telematics Architecture initiative,'' said Pat Kennedy, CEO at Cellport. Cellport Global Partners Program consists of four current licensees: OCTI of Japan, a division of OMRON; Peiker, a leading Telematics equipment supplier in Europe; ALAC GmbH, Germany, an automotive hands-free supplier in Europe; and British Aerospace and Engineering.
The Cellport Global Partners program is a consortium of leading vendors from the wireless and automotive industries that are working together to advance Cellport's open connectivity platform for automotive telematics. By licensing Cellport's patent portfolio of core wireless connectivity technologies and other intellectual property, Cellport Global Partners are able to develop, manufacture and sell universal hands-free wireless phone connectivity systems and more advanced automotive telematics products and services for OEM applications and after-market installations.
About Cellport Systems
Cellport Systems is a world leader in providing in-vehicle wireless communications and telematics systems. The company's flagship product, the Cellport Universal Hands-Free System, has gained wide acceptance from automotive makers worldwide, and in retail and wireless channels. The company's substantial patent portfolio positions it for continued leadership in the telematics industry. The Cellport Global Partners program is rapidly expanding Cellport's connectivity technology around the globe through unique strategic partnerships and licensing relationships with partners in Europe, North America and Asia. Investors in Cellport Systems include AT&T Wireless Services, Cisco Systems and Omron Corporation. The company is privately held, with corporate headquarters in Boulder, Colorado and regional offices in Detroit, Michigan and Tokyo, Japan. For more information, please visit the Cellport Systems web site at www.cellport.com.