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June 2, 1999 |
Parsons Technology Church Software Division Sold (Again) |
| Just when you thought it was safe to get off the merry-go-round... A little-known financial services company called Findex.com announced today it has entered into an agreement with The Learning Company to essentially acquire the Church Software Division of Parsons Technology. The rumor is that the current staff has been offered the opportunity to stay with the new company, though they would have to relocate to be closer to the homes of Findex executives. It's hard to believe, but this will be the second ownership change in the church division since I left five months ago, and the fifth since I founded the division in 1988 (purchased by Intuit, 1994; Broderbund, 1997; The Learning Company, 1998; Mattel, 1999). What does this mean to customers of Parsons Technology products? As with any transaction like this, it is difficult to tell. But I can tell you that each one of these mergers consumed huge amounts of time and made previous processes less efficient. Time that could have been spent on new products, satisfying customer needs and positioning products to compete effectively is instead spent learning the new company and its systems, training a new sales staff, meeting the new management, re-writing hundreds of contracts, etc. I still have a lot of friends at Parsons and an emotional investment in QuickVerse. I wish them the best in their new endeavor. What follows is the press release from Findex.
FindEx.com Inc. to Acquire Exclusive Long Term License and Distribution Rights From ParsonsDeal Creates Immediate Markets for Financial Services CompanyOMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 2, 1999--FindEx.com Inc. (OTC BB:FIND) announced today that it has agreed to acquire exclusive long term license and distribution rights from Parsons Technology Inc., which is part of The Learning Company, a division of Mattel Inc. (NYSE:MAT - news), in an all cash transaction. Funding for the transaction is being provided by Compass Capital Corporation, of Newton, Mass. FindEx officials said the deal will give FindEx (www.findex.com), an online provider of comprehensive financial information and services, an immediate strong presence in the rapidly growing small business and consumer market. FindEx is a provider of Web-based local, regional, national and international financial information services and financial decision support as well as financial research data. Additional services are under development. The transaction also includes the exchange of distribution agreements, which gives The Learning Company the ability to continue leveraging the Christian bookseller market with their family oriented products. "The deal makes both companies winners," said Joe Szczepaniak, FindEx CEO and president. "As we position our business to provide an integrated set of financial tools and services, FindEx will be able to offer them to all of the online customers of the Parsons Technology Church Division, while continuing to offer all of our products through The Learning Company's new e-Commerce site at shopTLC.com." "Churches make up one of the fastest growing small business groups -- a market that requires financial services of the type FindEx will identify and offer," he said. The Parsons acquisition includes the quickverse.com Web sites and a license for Parsons' Church Division intellectual property, including non-exclusive rights to the "Parsons" trademark and other trademarks associated with the Church Division. FindEx also acquires non-exclusive rights to the Church Division's customer lists and accounts. The Church Division has sold more than 800,000 copies of QuickVerse, a leading Bible study software program. Bill Terrill, Parsons Church Division vice president, will join the FindEx team as chief technology officer. "This is a wonderful opportunity to bring the wide range of FindEx resources to all of the users of The Learning Company and Parsons Church Division products," said Terrill. "The move fits our target vision to expand our products and technology well beyond any of our competition," he continued. Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions contained in the foregoing are forward-looking statements. The realization of any or all of these expectations is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and it is possible that the assumptions made by management may not materialize.
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