CALGARY, Alberta --- July 16, 2007 --- SMART Technologies Inc. announces that funds advised by Apax Partners will take a significant minority position in the company. Each of the founders, David Martin and Nancy Knowlton, and Intel Capital will continue to retain significant minority interests. Martin and Knowlton will also retain their positions atop the company as Executive Chairman and CEO, respectively. No changes are anticipated in the company's operations as a result of the investment. The investment is expected to close shortly pending regulatory approval. The company is not disclosing details of the transaction.
The announcement of the investment comes on the heels of recently announced agreements with Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Cambridge University Press. HP, one of the world's largest IT companies, has become a reseller of SMART's products through its K-12 education sales team in the United States. SMART has also entered into an exclusive alliance with Cambridge University Press, the world's oldest publisher, to distribute its education content in North America. SMART continues to announce significant enhancements to its product lines along with new product offerings.
"The interactive display and group collaboration tools market for use both in education and enterprises is expanding rapidly, and we believe this is a market with very significant expansion to come. SMART is a leader in this area, and this investment reaffirms our belief in this market space," says Salim Nathoo, Partner, Apax Partners. "We look forward to working with the company to build on its success."
"Today's announcement is another example of Intel Capital's focus on working creatively to benefit our portfolio companies," said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital. "We invested early in SMART Technologies and are pleased that Apax Partners' involvement will help the company expand its positive impact in the future."
"We are delighted with the addition of Apax Partners as an investor in the company. Their deep technology sector expertise, local presence, and global platform will be of great help to us as we continue our next phase of growth," says Nancy Knowlton, SMART's CEO. "This addition, coupled with Intel's, Dave's and my continued involvement, gives us the strength to execute on our plan to make SMART a significant global player in the broader collaboration space."
SMART and the founders were advised on the transaction by RBC Capital Markets, and Apax Partners was advised by Morgan Stanley & Co. Limited. Intel Capital acted on its own behalf.
About SMART
SMART Technologies Inc. supplies ICT products that are suitable for interactive display applications and facilitate a more interactive, collaborative environment. SMART products include the family of award-winning SMART BoardT interactive whiteboards, as well as interactive pen displays, interactive digital signage, wireless slates and software. Using SMART products, groups can access and share the information they need to meet, teach, train and present. SMART has been issued and maintains a broad portfolio of patents with numerous other U.S., Canadian and foreign patents pending. SMART customers include NASA, Texas Instruments, BMW, Toyota Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Boeing, Lucent Technologies, NTT, the Los Angeles Lakers, Novartis, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Accenture, Procter & Gamble, British Telecom, Disney Imagineering and Harvard University.
SMART is a private company founded in 1987. Employing more than 1,000 people, SMART is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with assembly facilities in Ottawa, and offices in Bonn, Tokyo, Shanghai, New York City, Chicago and Washington, DC. In 1992, SMART formed a strategic alliance with Intel Corporation that resulted in joint product development and marketing efforts, and Intel Capital's equity ownership in the company. SMART products are sold through dealers across North America and distributors worldwide. For more information, visit www.smarttech.com
About Intel Capital
Intel Capital, Intel's venture capital organization, makes equity investments in innovative technology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software and services targeting enterprise, home, mobility, health, consumer Internet and semiconductor manufacturing. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$6 billion in nearly 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries. In that time, about 180 portfolio companies have been acquired by other companies and another 155 have gone public on various exchanges around the world. In 2006, Intel Capital invested about US$1.07 billion in 163 deals with approximately 60 percent of funds (excluding Clearwire) invested outside the United States. For more information on Intel Capital and its differentiated advantages, visit www.intel.com/capital.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
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