St. Louis, February 25, 1994 -- Data Research Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRAI) today announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent for the purchase of the library automation system and related assets of multiLIS, a division of Sobeco Ernst & Young, Inc., and of certain assets of multiLIS' distributors: multiLIS Corporation, Avec Technical Services, Inc.; Multicore Library Systems, Inc.; and multiLIS Europe S.A. Data Research intends to purchase the assets for an undisclosed cash amount, subject to the execution of a definitive asset purchase agreement and other conditions.
The proposed assets to be purchased include multiLIS' fully integrated library automation software; all rights for the sales, licensing and distribution of multiLIS products worldwide; all rights and obligations under each of multiLIS' support agreements; and certain intellectual property rights.
multiLIS is headquartered in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. Its automation system, which simultaneously supports English, French and Spanish, is currently installed at more than 310 customer sites in the United States, Canada and Europe.
"multiLIS is well recognized in the international library community for the breadth of functionality of its software and its commitment to superior customer service," said Michael J. Mellinger, Chairman and CEO of Data Research. "As part of this purchase process, Data Research will strive to retain the high level of expertise that is represented among multiLIS' staff and to maintain multiLIS' business continuity, both internally and in its relationships with its customers.
"This proposed purchase provides excellent synergies for customer service and worldwide networked information access for users of Data Research's software systems and multiLIS' software systems. multiLIS' strong presence in the K through 12 school, European and UNIX-based library segments further extends Data Research's market penetration and selection of advanced competitive products."
Data Research, based in St. Louis, is a leading systems integrator, providing its own proprietary information services software, as well as third-party software and hardware, networking services and other related services to libraries and other information providers.
