Amdocs Completes Acquisition of Bridgewater Systems, Enabling Service Providers to Redefine the Data Experience
Purchase uniquely positions Amdocs to offer pre-integrated charging and policy management solutions to enhance service provider data offerings
ST. LOUIS (August 17, 2011) – Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), the leading provider of customer experience systems, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Bridgewater Systems Corporation (TSX: BWC) (“Bridgewater”), a publicly held provider of policy management and network control solutions. Amdocs acquired 25,178,827 common shares of Bridgewater (representing 100 percent of Bridgewater’s outstanding common shares) for CAD$8.20 per share in cash, through a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Amdocs. Prior to the acquisition, Amdocs did not own any securities of Bridgewater. The transaction is valued at approximately CAD$211 million, or CAD$139 million net of Bridgewater’s cash as of June 30, 2011. The acquisition will further expand Amdocs’ Customer Experience Systems (CES) portfolio, allowing service providers to implement new value-based data monetization strategies to capitalize on the data explosion.
In order to better monetize their networks and data services, service providers are moving away from unlimited data packages which render the network vulnerable to heavy usage in some cases. Instead, they want to create new value-based pricing and data monetization models in which customers will be offered personalized packages that better match revenue to their consumption behavior and usage patterns.
“This strategic acquisition will enable service providers to completely redefine the real-time data experience and maximize the return on their network investments,” said Brian Shepherd, group president for Amdocs. “We are delighted to welcome Bridgewater’s highly innovative, skilled professionals to Amdocs as we continue expanding our market-leading CES portfolio.”
“Following this acquisition, service providers will be able to benefit from data experience solutions based on a pre-integrated combination of Amdocs’ leading convergent charging technology and Bridgewater’s advanced policy control capabilities that address the increase in demand for high-bandwidth services and the exponential growth of smartphones and other connected devices,” said Ed Ogonek, President and CEO for Bridgewater.
For example, this acquisition will enable service providers to offer many innovative, new packages and promotions to consumer and business customers, including:
- Ability for customers to select packages based on the type and quality of data service such as the number of films they wish to download in high definition (not just harder-to-understand metrics like size and speed of data download)
- Shared data allowance across multiple devices or family data packages with different policies for each family member
- More creative promotions based on multiple factors such as customer monetary or lifetime value, usage behavior and network status at peak and non-peak network times
- Improved capabilities to offer up-sell and cross-sell opportunities in real time
“To successfully monetize their networks and enable a move to value-based pricing, service providers need to integrate their charging and policy systems,” said Ari Banerjee, senior analyst at Heavy Reading. “Standalone policy management provides an optimized network but not the most profitable one, while charging by itself provides monetization but does not enforce network knowledge. Successful network monetization needs these two systems to work together, which requires significant integration between the business support systems (BSS) and policy control systems. With the Bridgewater acquisition, Amdocs will be positioned to offer a pre-integrated policy management and charging solution to drive service providers’ data revenue.”
Amdocs does not expect a material impact from the acquisition of Bridgewater on fiscal year 2011 or fiscal year 2012 non-GAAP earnings per share, which excludes acquisition related costs and equity-based compensation expense, net of related tax effects. The impact on GAAP results will be finalized after Amdocs completes the purchase price accounting for the acquisition. Amdocs may incur acquisition-related expense in fiscal 2011 to account for certain costs related to the acquisition. In addition to the product and solution synergies, Amdocs and Bridgewater also share numerous top-tier customers, including Bell Mobility, Sprint and Telstra.
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About Bridgewater
Bridgewater Systems, the leader in intelligent broadband controls, provides pre-integrated solutions for mobile and converged operators to transform their networks, optimize mobile data growth, and innovate with new services. The Bridgewater Systems portfolio of carrier-grade products includes Service Controller (AAA), Policy Controller (PCRF) and Home Subscriber Server (HSS), anchored by a common identity and device management system. More than 150 leading service providers worldwide leverage Bridgewater Systems to create and deliver profitable services to consumer, enterprise, cloud and machine markets. For more information, visit Bridgewater Systems at www.bridgewatersystems.com.
About Amdocs
Amdocs is the market leader in customer experience systems innovation. The company combines business and operational support systems, service delivery platforms, proven services and deep industry expertise to enable service providers and their customers to do more in the connected world. Amdocs’ offerings help service providers explore new business models, differentiate through personalized customer experiences and streamline operations. A global company with revenue of approximately $3.0 billion in fiscal 2010, Amdocs has over 19,000 employees and serves customers in more than 60 countries worldwide. Amdocs Holdings ULC, the wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Amdocs that now holds all of the outstanding common shares of Bridgewater, is located at Suite 800, 1959 Upper Water St., P.O. Box 997, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2X2, Canada. For more information, visit Amdocs at www.amdocs.com.
Amdocs’ Forward-Looking Statement
This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Amdocs’ growth and business results in future quarters. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be obtained or that any deviations will not be material. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, the effects of general economic conditions, Amdocs’ ability to grow in the business segments it serves, adverse effects of market competition, rapid technological shifts that may render the Company’s products and services obsolete, potential loss of a major customer, our ability to develop long-term relationships with our customers, and risks associated with operating businesses in the international market. Amdocs may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, however the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These and other risks are discussed at greater length in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010, filed on December 7, 2010 and our quarterly 6-K filed forms furnished on February 8, May 11 and August 8, 2011.
Source: Amdocs
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