Percon Inc. acquires STI S.A.; Complementary acquisition strengthens Percon's international distribution and research and development group

Business Wire, Feb 13, 1996

EUGENE, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 13, 1996--Percon Inc. (Nasdaq:PRCN) today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire STI S.A., for $4.5 million in cash.

STI will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Percon Inc.

Located in La Celle Saint Cloud, France, STI is a privately-held French developer, manufacturer, and marketer of multi-interface decoders. STI offers a complete range of fixed-station decoders including the Master B , BB , and I , and decoded bar code input devices including wands, lasers, CCDs, and magnetic stripe readers.

STI recently introduced the Smartnet Network which is designed around the RS-485 high speed multi-drop standard and allows the connection of up to 255 stations over a distance of 3,600 feet. The Smartnet Network also includes software which allows the user to program various operating modes for different applications. STI products are sold worldwide through a network of distributors, dealers, resellers, and OEMs in over 70 countries.

Formed in 1985, STI's revenues were approximately $6.4 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 1995. Net income for the year ended Dec. 31, 1995, was approximately $800,000. During the first quarter of 1996, Percon expects to incur a one-time charge related to purchase price allocation for STI in-process research and development acquired.

"We are very pleased to be associated with STI. STI has established a strong distribution network throughout Europe which accounted for 85% of their revenues in 1995," says Michael P. Coughlin, Percon's president and CEO.

"Our distribution strategies are complementary and as a result, we expect to sell our portable data collection terminals and IntelliTrack data management software into STI's distribution channels. Percon will in turn sell STI's decoded bar code input devices and Smartnet Network products through our current distribution channels."

Gerard Le Corre, the founder of STI, will remain president and managing director of STI. The 39 STI employees will continue to perform research and development, manufacturing and marketing from the existing French location.

"STI is excited to be carrying Percon portable data terminals and data management software," adds Gerard Le Corre, STI's president. "They are an excellent fit with our current product line and distribution strategy and we plan on introducing them to our customers at CODEXPO SCANTEC 96 in Paris, France this week."

Percon develops, manufactures and markets data collection and management products including fixed-station decoders, portable data terminals and application software for the automatic identification and data collection ("Auto ID") market. The company's products are used principally in point-of-sale and point-of-service applications in a variety of industries, including retail, education, manufacturing, health care and package delivery.

They provide a rapid, accurate and efficient means to collect, process, transmit, record and manage data. The company sells its products through a network of domestic and international distributors, value-added resellers (VARs) and systems integrators.

CONTACT: Percon Inc. Eugene

G. Scott Purcell, 541/334-4403