News

Level 8 to Acquire Template Software

• By Scott Bekker
• 10/21/1999

Level 8 Systems Inc. (www.level8.com)announced an agreement to acquire Template Software Inc. (www.template.com) for approximately $49 million in cash and Level 8 common stock. Level 8 is a provider of rapid business integration solutions that enable e-business and e-commerce. Template is a provider of business process automation and application integration solutions, with a substantial customer base in the government, telecommunications, and financial services market.

The acquisition of Template will allow Level 8 to offer next generation enterprise application integration (EAI) solutions. Merging Template's ERP integration, component development, high performance data integration engine, and business workflow and process management products with Level 8's middleware, EAI, and application development technologies, Level 8 is poised to deliver end-to-end enterprise solutions.

"Conducting business on the Internet mandates robust, scalable infrastructure that is capable of supporting the massive transaction volumes and dynamic response times demanded by the online business and information consumer," says Ed Acly, director of middleware research for International Data Corp. (IDC, www.idc.com). "The merger of Level 8 and Template is significant because the combination of their respective technologies will enable Level 8 to be among the first to address such a broad spectrum of e-business infrastructure requirements in order to better assist customers competing in the e-economy."

In the merger, each share of Template common stock will be exchanged for $4.00 in cash plus $3.90 worth of Level 8 common stock. The merger is intended to qualify as a tax-free reorganization, which means that in financing, Template stockholders would generally be permitted to defer taxes on the Level 8 stock portion of the purchase price. The transaction is subject to certain conditions, including stockholder approval, regulatory approval, and necessary consents and filing. As a result of the acquisition, Level 8 will nearly double in size to a company with over 500 employees worldwide.