American nCipher deal on the rocks

[R. A. Hettinga]

--- begin forwarded text


  Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 15:24:32 -0400
  To: Philodox Clips List <clips at philodox.com>
  From: "R. A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
  Subject: American nCipher deal on the rocks

  Latest of a series of this kind of article, starting 3/31...

  Drag.

  Cheers,
  RAH
  -------


<http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/business/news/2006/04/04/7987a601-04f2-415b-9df1-8ee5d08856a2.lpf>


  Cambridge Evening News
  Businesss : News :

  04 April 2006



  American nCipher deal on the rocks

  SAFENET'S proposed purchase of nCipher could be off.

  The putative American buyer had offered #86.1 million for the Cambridge
  company but the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) referred the move to the
  Competition Commission.

  SafeNet said its offer has now lapsed as a result - and it has not yet
  confirmed if its interest in nCipher, founded by brothers Alex and Nicko
  van Someren, is over.

  A company statement said:

  "SafeNet notes the decision from the Office of Fair Trading to refer the
  offer for nCipher plc to the Competition Commission.

  "As a result of the referral by the OFT to the Competition Commission, the
  offer has, in accordance with its terms, lapsed.

  "SafeNet is considering its options resulting from this referral, and will
  announce its next steps shortly.

  "Arrangements will be made for those nCipher shares in respect of which
  acceptances of the offer have been received to be returned to the relevant
  holders in accordance with the terms of the offer."

  Staff at nCipher are now waiting on SafeNet's next move.

  Daniel Murton, director of corporate marketing, said: "That is the end of
  this particular deal.

  "There was a condition in the offer that should there be a referral to the
  Competition Commission, the offer lapsed. SafeNet is now considering its
  options."

  He would not speculate as to whether SafeNet's interest was at an end.

  He said: "There is no definite answer.

  "Everybody would like clarity and we are expecting another announcement
  from SafeNet. It's in their hands."

  SafeNet had received acceptances in respect of more than 23 million nCipher
  shares - around 81 per cent of the issued share capital - by the offer
  deadline on March 24, and it had extended the deadline to April 9.

  But then the OFT stepped in because both companies are engaged in the
  supply of hardware security modules (HSMs) - computer systems to manage the
  encryption of data enabling the secure exchange of information - both in
  the UK and worldwide.

  It referred the deal to the Competition Commission.

  Vincent Smith, the OFT's director of competition enforcement, said: "This
  transaction will bring together two of the largest suppliers of HSMs in the
  UK.

  "The loss of competitive pressure between the parties may lead to customers
  facing higher prices and a loss of innovation."

  nCipher employs around 160 people worldwide, 70 of them in its Station Road
  headquarters.




  --
  -----------------
  R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
  The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
  44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
  "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
  [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
  experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

--- end forwarded text


-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'