HP strengthens leadership in e-discovery and compliance management with acquisition of TOWER Software

1st April 2008: Today, HP and TOWER Software announced that they have signed a pre-bid agreement for HP to acquire TOWER Software.

Through its HP Software Information Management business, HP offers customers cost-effective approaches for managing, protecting and extracting value from their information assets. This announcement represents continued investment in information management and broadens the HP Software e-discovery compliance portfolio for capturing, collecting and preserving documents and records for government and highly regulated industries.

This announcement benefits both TOWER Software and HP Software customers. TOWER Software's leading document and records management solution and expertise is expected to extend HP Software's e-discovery capabilities beyond information collection and retention to include document and records management as defined by the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (www.edrm.net). As a result, HP customers would be able to manage their electronic and paper records with a single enterprise records management solution, leveraging capabilities from TOWER Software, the HP Imaging and Printing business and HP Software.

In return, as HP would provide TOWER Software with a reinforced position in an ever consolidating market, you, our customers, will benefit from the further reassurance as to the future of your implemented solution. You will continue to receive the personal attention, support and services  you have come to expect from TOWER Software, whilst enjoying the added security of a large organization committed to developing solutions to meet information management needs.

HP and TOWER Software have complementary technologies and a certified joint solution in place, so combining the industry expertise from Tower Software with the strength of HP's execution engine, will represent a true meeting of minds.  This will result in a comprehensive information management portfolio that addresses the majority of requirements for e-discovery and compliance while delivering business efficiencies across the organization. Additionally, HP has a worldwide presence in more than 170 countries and can more efficiently deliver a combined suite of solutions to global customers. HP products are also backed by a full range of services and support.

This announcement builds upon the strong relationship between HP and TOWER Software. HP has been a valued TOWER Software partner, and product integration work has already been completed and certified under our alliance agreement. This acquisition should result in an extended and even more complete, end-to-end unified records management solution.

With this announcement, we are excited about the opportunity to better serve your needs and look forward to updating you on our plans for integration when this acquisition closes. We expect the deal to close in Q2 of calendar year 2008. In the meantime, if you have any questions about this announcement, please view the FAQ at http://www.towersoft.com/global/customers/faq or contact your HP or TOWER Software sales representative or visit www.hp.com/go/tower.

Regards,

Martin Harwood