UCN Announces Definitive Acquisition Agreement to Purchase Leading Automated Survey and Analysis Business
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SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 18 -- UCN, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: UCNN) , the leading provider of all-in-one, off-premises contact handling technology services delivered over the UCN VoIP network, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a leading hosted call center survey and analysis business for the initial purchase price of $5 million in stock and cash.
Under the terms of the agreement, UCN will acquire a call center survey and analysis business, operated under the name of ECHO(TM). The ECHO business includes a customer base, of which more than half are Fortune 500 companies, an automated survey and analysis product, and related sales, marketing and technical staff.
UCN CEO Paul Jarman said: "This purchase will significantly strengthen UCN's position as a provider of hosted, all-in-one contact handling and workforce optimization products by expanding our service offerings into the area of automated, quality monitoring and measurement tools."
Other advantages of the acquisition include:
o A company that has historically realized positive cash from operations
o A new customer base with a recurring revenue stream
o An increased opportunity to develop additional revenue from existing
UCN customers
o The ability to close new customers faster with the ECHO product
o The leading industry expert in call center performance, Dr. Jon Anton
will chair a UCN advisory board
Businesses use the product to:
o Measure customer satisfaction and track historical trends over time
o Present the results of each survey and the trend analysis to the agent
who handled the contact and that agent's supervisor
o Improve agent behavior and performance
o Support a service recovery process (i.e. to recoup dissatisfied
customers), whereby managers proactively contact customers who rate
their interaction poorly
Said Anita Rockwell, President of BenchmarkPortal: "The market for automated post-call surveys is poised for growth this year. In a recent research paper published by the research arm of BenchmarkPortal, we found that 88% of respondents were adding post-call surveys to their 'quality initiative' in the year 2007. As a result, I feel the synergy between the two companies can create a 'whole' stronger then the sum of the 'parts.' ECHO benefits from integration with UCN's core contact handling technology, while UCN benefits by having an easy-to-sell point solution that supports post-call surveys."
Terms of the Agreement
Under the terms of the agreement, the acquisition price is $5 million, consisting of $500,000 in cash and $4.5 million in UCN restricted common stock. Additional earn-out dollars are defined within the agreement and could be paid if the ECHO product achieves certain revenue goals. Up to $2 million could be paid based on existing customer recurring revenue retention over three years. Up to $7 million could be paid if significant new customer recurring revenue targets are achieved over the next four years. Closing of the acquisition is subject to the satisfaction of a number of conditions. Assuming those conditions are met, the transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2007.
About Dr. Jon Anton and the Center for Customer-Driven Quality(TM) at Purdue
Dr. Jon Anton is an Adjunct Professor at Purdue University and the research director at the Center for Customer-Driven Quality(TM) at Purdue. The Center for Customer-Driven Quality was founded by Dr. Jon Anton at Purdue University in 1995. The Center focuses on industry-sponsored research and training in all aspects of customer service with a special emphasis on the customer contact center, including telephone, email, Web-chat, and Web self-service. Dr. Jon has assisted over 400 companies in improving their customer service strategy/delivery by the design and implementation of inbound and outbound call centers, as well as in the decision-making process of using a teleservices provider for maximizing service levels while minimizing costs per call.
About UCN, Inc.
UCN (BULLETIN BOARD: UCNN) is the leading provider of all-in-one, off-premises contact handling services that improve the customer contact experience and the productivity of those handling the contacts. InContact® includes an integrated suite of core contact handling applications, including contact routing, interactive menus, database integration, automated surveys, reporting, monitoring, recording, administration and workforce management applications. InControl(TM) is a unique, rapid application development tool that enables inContact customers to develop highly flexible, customized business contact handling processes in record time. To learn more about UCN visit www.ucn.net
Source: UCN, Inc.
CONTACT:
Jan Johnson,
VP of Marketing of UCN, Inc.
+1-801-320-3263,
jan.johnson@ucn.net
Dr. Jon Anton,
Director of BenchmarkPortal (BMP),
+1-805-614-0123, ext. 21,
DrJonAnton@BenchmarkPortal.com
Investors
Scott Liolios,
Liolios Group Inc.,
+1-949-574-3860,
scott@liolios.com
Ron Both,
Liolios Group Inc.,
+1-949-574-3860
Web site: www.ucn.net/
