LONGMONT, Colo.-E911 infrastructure company Intrado Inc. announced it purchased European messaging company Bmd Wireless in a cash and stock deal. The company also reported an increase in fourth-quarter revenues but a declining net income, news that served to elicit downgrades from Raymond James and Pacific Growth Equities and send its stock down from around $24 to around $19.20 per share.
Intrado said it will buy Bmd for about $4.2 million in cash, 735,000 common shares and an obligation to buy 210,000 more shares in 2005. Intrado said the move would add a variety of wireless messaging applications to its product portfolio. Bmd’s applications include spam filtering, global messaging and missed call capture.
“Intrado’s wireless customers value the reliability of our E9-1-1 solutions. These customers want to offer data services that create customer loyalty and provide expanded revenue opportunities with new and existing subscribers. With the Bmd acquisition, Intrado is well positioned to help our customers be successful in delivering dynamic data services offerings,” said George Heinrichs, Intrado’s chief executive officer. “This move into commercial data services is a powerful step in support of our strategy to extend beyond our E9-1-1 and public-safety business. This acquisition also reinforces our commitment to expand internationally and establish a strong European presence.”
In its fourth quarter Intrado reported revenues of $33 million, up slightly from the $29.7 million it reported in the fourth quarter of 2002. The company scored net income of around $3.9 million, down from the $9.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2002. Intrado said it expects slightly lower revenues in the first quarter with a declining net income of around $2 million.
In other E911 news, Centennial Wireless signed a five-year contract extension with TeleCommunication Systems Inc. to deliver Phase I and Phase II E911 services to Centennial’s Midwest and Southeast markets.
