November 1, 2006
Jerusalem, Israel—November 1, 2006. The Ex Libris™ Group, a leading worldwide developer and provider of high-performance applications for libraries and information centers, announced today that Francisco Partners, one of the worlds largest technology-focused private equity funds, has completed the acquisition of the entire Ex Libris Group holdings.
We are very pleased that our association with Francisco Partners has come to a successful culmination, notes Matti Shem Tov, president and CEO of Ex Libris. Francisco Partners positive assessment of Ex Libris further reaffirms our belief in the strength of the Company, our products, and our future directions.
Ex Libris has a strong and established market position from which to take advantage of the ever-increasing need for software tools to discover, deliver, and manage library collections. We are proud to be well on the way to achieving our next phase of technological and geographical growth within our core library and e-content markets, adds Mr. Shem Tov.
We have been working closely with Ex Libris over the past few months and have been impressed by the Ex Libris team, their technological proficiency and development plans, and their history of partnering with customers to create innovative solutions. Francisco Partners is looking forward to working together with the Ex Libris management team, employees, and customers to further strengthen Ex Libris market leading position, says Andrew Gray, a principal with Francisco Partners.
About Ex Libris:
Ex Libris is a leading worldwide developer and provider of high-performance applications for libraries, information centers, and researchers, with installations in 62 countries. ALEPH®, the Ex Libris integrated library solution, has been installed at over 1700 sites worldwide. MetaLib®, the information portal for library collections, and SFX®, the context-sensitive linking solution for heterogeneous electronic resources in the scholarly information environment, have collectively been purchased by over 1000 institutions in 40 countries. DigiTool®, a solution for the construction of digital collections, and Verde®, the electronic resource management (ERM) system, have been warmly adopted by customers worldwide.
Primo®, the Companys next-generation, user-centric discovery and delivery solution–and the newest addition to the Ex Libris product suite–was launched at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans in June 2006.
