July 26, 2006
Jerusalem, Israel
The Ex Libris™ Group, a leading worldwide developer and provider of high-performance applications for libraries and information centers, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Francisco Partners, one of the worlds largest technology-focused private equity funds, for the acquisition of 100% of the Companys shares. This acquisition will enable Ex Libris to continue expanding its geographical reach and explore acquisition opportunities for complementary products in the library automation and e-resource markets.
Ex Libris, the industry leader in library automation innovation, represents an exciting opportunity for Francisco Partners, says Andrew Gray, a principal with Francisco Partners. Ex Libris is a research and development pioneer that has proven its technical superiority in the ever-evolving information science sector with excellent solutions designed to meet changing market requirements. Financially strong and with consistently strong growth, Ex Libris is well positioned to make strategic acquisitions and to expand into new geographical markets. We are delighted to work in partnership with the Companys strong and focused management team.
Matti Shem Tov, President and CEO of Ex Libris explains: Ex Libris has an extremely strong and established market position from which to take advantage of the increasing need for software tools to discover, deliver, and manage print and digital content within academic, research, and national libraries worldwide. We feel that our association with Francisco Partners will serve as a springboard to accelerate the next phase of our growth both technologically and geographically within our core library and e-content markets.
Mr. Gray also commented on his firms excitement about Israels high technology industry and their plans for future investments. We have been looking at Israels technology sector for some time and I fully expect our investment in Ex Libris to be the first of many.
Subject to regulatory and third-party approvals, the transaction is expected to close by September 2006.
About Francisco Partners:
With approximately $5 billion of capital under management, Francisco Partners (FP) is one of the world’s largest technology-focused private equity funds. The firm was founded to pursue structured investments in technology companies at strategic, technological, and operational inflection points. FP pursues investment opportunities where domain knowledge, strategic insight, and long-term focus generate a differentiated view of investment value and drive superior investment returns. FP makes majority and minority investments in private companies, public companies, and divisions of public companies. The principals of Francisco Partners have a proven track record, having invested in excess of $3 billion of equity capital in over 50 technology companies.
For additional information on Francisco Partners, please see: www.franciscopartners.com.
About Ex Libris:
Ex Libris is a global provider of software solutions to the worlds leading libraries, including four of the five largest. With the largest global presence in its market, the Company serves a diverse installed base of 2,500 customers in 62 countries. These include 70 of the 100 top universities worldwide and 45 of the top 50 universities in North America.
Ex Libris solutions include the ALEPH® 500 integrated library solution, currently installed at over 1,700 sites worldwide; MetaLib®, the information portal for library collections; the award-winning SFX®, context-sensitive linking solution for heterogeneous electronic resources in the scholarly information environment; DigiTool®, a solution for the construction of digital collections; and Verde®, the electronic resource management (ERM) system. The Primo® next-generation, user-centric discovery and delivery solution–and the newest addition to the Ex Libris suite–was launched in June 2006.
