Author: JT Smith
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – November 20, 2000 – EBIZ Enterprises Inc. (OTCBB:EBIZ),
the country’s largest vendor-neutral Linux solutions builder, has announced
the planned acquisition of JBSi (Jones Business Systems, Incorporated) of
Houston, Texas. The announcement was made today by EBIZ CEO Dave Shaw and
JBSi President Bruce Parsons.
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of this calendar year and
creates one of the largest companies in the Linux industry with existing
annual revenue of approximately $50 million. Upon completion of the
acquisition, JBSi will be a wholly owned subsidiary of EBIZ Enterprises Inc.
Under terms of the acquisition, 8.3 million shares of EBIZ stock will be
exchanged for all outstanding capital stock and equity interests of JBSi.
The acquisition strengthens EBIZ’s commitment to the expanding market for
specialized servers, also known as appliance servers. Specialized servers
are a new generation of single-purpose computer equipment created as a
result of rapid Internet growth and the evolution to a thin client
architecture. Specialized servers, including Web-hosting and
database-hosting devices, are used extensively by application service
providers (ASPs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). EBIZ shares this
space with companies such as Cobalt, Network Engines and Network Appliance.
“This event is very exciting and marks a major turning point in the Linux
industry,” said Shaw. “With the recent purchase of SCO by Caldera, many UNIX
VARs (value added resellers) see Linux as the natural migration path for
their business. This acquisition turns that migration path into a
superhighway and will dramatically increase the number of VARs providing
Linux solutions.”
“JBSi has been building and supplying white boxes, products and services to
the UNIX community since 1991 and will continue to provide both UNIX and
Linux products and services in the future,” said Parsons. “Anticipating the
rapid growth of the Linux and UNIX marketplaces, JBSi built our in-house
systems and facilities to handle sales volume of more than $200 million per
year. We expect the acquisition by EBIZ will further support our efforts to
increase sales.”
EBIZ is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. with offices in Denver, Colo. and
Orem, Utah. JBSi is a privately held company with headquarters in Houston,
Texas.
About JBSi
JBSi (Jones Business Systems, Incorporated) is a national solutions
integrator, white box system builder and service provider. JBSi manufactures
the Terian product line of built-to-order computing solutions for its
reseller and enterprise partners. Terian systems combine the latest Intel
hardware technology with built-to-order flexibility and reliability.
JBSi supplies computing products and services to its reseller and enterprise
partners nationwide in the Linux, UNIX and Windows 2000 marketplaces and is
one of the nation’s top distributors of Informix (Nasdaq: IFMX), SCO
(Nasdaq: SCOC), Data General (Nasdaq: DATA) and Acer products. For more
information, visit www.jbsi.com or contact John Martin, JBSi VP
Communications, at 281-403-8500, 800-876-8649 or sales@jbsi.com.
About EBIZ Enterprises Inc.
EBIZ Enterprises Inc. (OTCBB:EBIZ) is an Open Source solutions builder for
the new generation of IT professionals. The company is one of the fastest
growing, vendor-neutral sources for Linux products, technical support and
community services for the B2B market. EBIZ is uniquely positioned to lead
the delivery of cutting-edge Open Source applications to the business
marketplace through reseller channels.
The EBIZ Web presence includes LinuxMall.comâ, TheLinuxStore.com,
LinuxNews.com and LinuxGuru.com. EBIZ’s wholly owned subsidiary,
PartnerAxis.com, is an information exchange center that specializes in
bringing together hardware companies, software manufacturers, VARs and end
users to deliver Open Source solutions to the business world.
For more information about EBIZ Enterprises Inc, visit our Investor
Relations Web site at www.ebizshareholder.com or contact Victoria Welch at
EBIZ at 480-778-1014.
All brand and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies
with which they are associated.
This press release contains statements that constitute “forward- looking
statements” as that term is defined by the United States Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Reform Act”). EBIZ Enterprises, Inc.
claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements
contained in the Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are often
characterized by the terms “may,” “believes,” “projects,” “expects,” or
“anticipates,” and do not reflect historical facts. Specific forward-looking
statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to,
sales volume projections, the combined company initial sales volume and the
value of the acquisition. Forward-looking statements involve risks,
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance
or achievements of EBIZ Enterprises, Inc. to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Factors that could affect the results of EBIZ Enterprises, Inc. and cause
them to materially differ from those contained in the forward-looking
statement include shifts in customer demand, product shipment schedules,
product mix, competitive products and pricing, technological shifts and
other variables. Other factors include those risk factors and cautionary
statements made in EBIZ Enterprises, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for
the period ended June 30, 2000. Other factors that EBIZ Enterprises, Inc. is
currently unable to identify or quantify, but may arise or become known in
the future.
In addition, the foregoing factors may affect generally EBIZ Enterprises,
Inc.’s business, results of operations and financial position.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was made.
EBIZ Enterprises, Inc. does not undertake and specifically disclaims any
obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
Note to editors, analysts and investors: A conference call for the news
media, analysts and investors discussing this announcement will be conducted
on Tuesday, November 21, at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Phone Number:
1-800-606-0988. Call-ins have to answer that the host is Dave Shaw. The
conference call will include an opening statement by EBIZ CEO Dave Shaw and
JBSi President Bruce Parsons followed by Q & A.
Contacts:
Dan Snyders, 303-623-2838 GD&A Public Relations, Denver
dan@gda-pr.com 720-231-9990 (Mobile) Victoria Welch, 480-778-1000 EBIZ
Enterprises, Inc., Scottsdale Director of Marketing/Investor Relations
