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PARIS, FRANCE, April 20, 2004 - BVRP Software, the creator of the
Avanquest global software publishing network, today announced that
it is rebranding all its Avanquest subsidiaries worldwide under
the Avanquest banner. The change was made to better reflect Avanquest's
tightly integrated global operations. Simultaneously, Avanquest
also announced two new directors and its new global tagline, "World
Class Software, Worldwide." The tagline signifies Avanquest's
commitment to rapidly introducing category-leading software titles
across all of the world's major software markets.
A network of value-added software publishers that maximizes sales
across multiple channels and geographic regions faster than other
publishing alternatives, Avanquest combines powerful retail relationships,
a wide range of value-added services and a local presence in territories
registering nearly 90% of the world's total packaged software sales.
Since its formation in June 2003, Avanquest has launched over 120
third-party software titles in 14 countries.
"Avanquest has expanded rapidly since its launch last year,"
said Bruno Vanryb, BVRP Software Group founder and chairman. "Avanquest
is now a united global organization with centralized operations
in many key functions. The rebranding effort announced today recognizes
this and demonstrates our continuing commitment to helping developers
reach the world's software markets in a faster, better way.
"Despite the advent of the Internet, the vast majority of packaged
software for personal use is still sold through the retail channel,"
Mr. Vanryb added. "In fact, the Internet has opened a new era
in programming creativity, educating, equipping and supporting millions
of developers. Avanquest was developed as a conduit for this creativity,
enabling new and established companies of all sizes to efficiently
reach global markets with innovative software products."
The global Avanquest rebranding initiative includes five subsidiaries,
each acquired by BVRP within the past five years:
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San Mateo, CA-based Elibrium Software, which develops and sells
its MySoftware™ products and third-party titles in over
10,000 retail outlets across North America, including Wal-Mart,
Staples, Office Depot, OfficeMax and CompUSA, will be known
as Avanquest USA (subject to final shareholder approval).
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ABSoft, a leading French software publisher with experience
in a vast array of distribution models including retail, distributors
and value-added resellers, corporate sales, mail order and catalogue
sales, and e-commerce, will now be referred to as Avanquest
France.
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Three entities will collectively be known as Avanquest UK:
Kommunicate, a British distributor of enterprise solutions with
over 100 channel partners in the U.K. corporate software market;
Guildsoft, a U.K. publisher and exclusive distribution partner
for leading software developers; and the London offices of MediaGold,
a provider of production, localization, marketing, PR and logistics
services to software companies through the retail, e-commerce,
corporate, OEM, catalogue and direct sales channels.
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The Munich offices of MediaGold, which also distribute software
in Austria and Switzerland, will now be been renamed Avanquest
Germany.
All of Avanquest's member companies are publishers with long histories
of doing business in their local markets. They cover every major
distribution channel in their respective markets, including over
15,000 retail outlets worldwide, and are tightly integrated into
Avanquest's network-wide systems that control product evaluation
and selection, overall marketing strategy, technical support and
other facets of operations.
In addition to these member companies, Avanquest also maintains
partnerships with publishers and distributors covering Spain, Italy,
Japan, Australia and South Africa.
BVRP also announced today that it has chosen San Mateo, CA and Munich,
Germany as Avanquest's new North American and European headquarters,
respectively, and has named new executives in each area following
its recent acquisitions of MediaGold and Elibrium. Elibrium CEO
Christina Seelye and MediaGold CEO Andy Goldstein have each been
named Executive Directors of Avanquest worldwide, and Seelye will
also assume the responsibilities of CEO and President of Avanquest
USA. Bob Lang, the previous Avanquest Director in North America,
remains President of BVRP USA, based in Denver, CO, which manages
OEM and channel sales of BVRP's software.
About Avanquest:
Formed in June 2003 by parent company BVRP Software Group, Avanquest
is a network of companies offering a complete range of software
publishing resources and a worldwide market to software developers
from around the globe. Headquartered in San Mateo, CA, Avanquest
has a local presence on five continents and long-established relationships
across all channels of distribution in markets covering nearly 90%
of the world's total software sales. BVRP Software Group, a leading
international software developer and publisher, was founded in Paris
in 1984 and is listed on the Nouveau Marché of the Euronext
stock exchange (ISIN FR0004026714). For additional information,
please visit www.avanquest.com
and www.bvrp.com.
About BVRP Software:
Headquartered in France, with subsidiaries in Germany, Great Britain
and the United States, the BVRP Software Group is a worldwide leading
publisher of communications and mobility software and a major provider
of personal and professional software designed for multimedia, productivity
and troubleshooting. Founded in 1984, BVRP Software celebrates 20
years of innovation in 2004. BVRP products are marketed in over
100 countries, through e-commerce, OEM partnerships and IT resellers.
In June 2003, BVRP Group formed Avanquest Global Software Publishing,
a coalition of software publishers offering worldwide publishing
resources to software developers everywhere. In 2003, the group
posted revenue of €48.6M with operating profit increasing of
145% to amount to €3.9M. Since December 1996, BVRP Software
has been listed on the Nouveau Marché of the Euronext Nouveau
Marché (ISIN FR0004026714). Additional information on BVRP
is available at www.bvrp.com.
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