Fremont, Calif./Lund, Sweden - June 30, 2003 - Logitech International (SWX:LOGN) (NASDAQ:LOGI) and Anoto Group AB (SSE:ANOT) today announced that Logitech has agreed to make a $15M equity investment in Anoto Group for approximately 10% of the company, subject to the approval of Anoto shareholders. The investment more firmly establishes the two companies' strategic relationship formed for business and technology development of the Logitech® io? Digital Pen and the digital pen & paper platform. Logitech Senior Vice President David Henry will join the Anoto Group board of directors, subject to Anoto shareholder approval.
"The market for the io Digital Pen shows tremendous potential," said Mr. Henry. "Even with all the advances in digital technology, a pen continues to be the preferred input method for a wide range of business processes, especially note-taking and filling out forms. With this technology, we marry the elegance and simplicity of the pen with the speed and convenience of working with digital information. And in doing so, we are at the forefront of an entirely new high-growth segment of the PC industry."
"Logitech is one of our most important partners and we are delighted about the continued confidence in our company and technology, and about the long-term collaboration regarding development of business opportunities enabled by the Anoto functionality. With this issue our co-operation is further strengthened and opportunities for closer and even more distinct future relationships are created", said Örjan Johansson, CEO, Anoto Group AB.
Since Logitech introduced the io Digital Pen into the marketplace in late 2002, the product has met with widespread acclaim among technology enthusiasts, and a community of loyal io Digital Pen users continues to develop. In addition, several large businesses and government agencies are currently conducting initial trials utilizing io Digital Pens in custom enterprise solutions.
"The concept of digital writing has received increasing attention recently, as we see growing understanding by technology companies of the elements necessary to deliver a satisfying end user experience," said Randy Giusto, Vice President, Personal Technology and Services for IDC. "The expanded collaboration between Logitech and Anoto signals a continuation of advancements in this market."
The pen breaks new ground in making it convenient for mobile professionals to create handwritten notes while on the go - using ink on paper - and later store them on a PC. An optical sensor embedded in the pen captures the handwritten images, and this captured digital information can then be transferred into the PC by synching the pen via a USB cradle. Software on the PC makes it easy to find, organize and share the handwritten information.
About Anoto Group AB
Anoto Group AB is a Swedish hi-tech company with unique solutions for transmission of handwritten text from paper to digital media, scanning of printed text and intelligent camera surveillance. All products are based on digital camera technology and image processing in real time. The Anoto Group today has three brand names: Anoto® - a comprehensive solution entailing paper, pen and server technologies, allowing us to connect all types of writing paper with the digital world, C-Pen® - a scanning pen that can store, interpret and transfer printed text, and WeSpot™ - a hardware and software platform for intelligent camera surveillance. The Anoto Group has around 200 employees, offices in Lund (head office), Stockholm, Boston, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Major shareholders are Ericsson, Capital Group and the founder Christer Fåhraeus. The Anoto share is traded on the O-list, Attract 40 of Stockholmsbörsen (Stockholm Stock Exchange) under the ticker ANOT. For more information: www.anotogroup.com.
About Logitech
Founded in 1981, Logitech designs, manufactures and markets personal interface products that enable people to effectively work, play, and communicate in the digital world.
With corporate headquarters through its U.S. subsidiary in Fremont, California, and regional headquarters through local subsidiaries in Switzerland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Logitech International is a Swiss public company traded on the Swiss Stock Exchange (LOGN) and in the U.S. on the Nasdaq National Market System (LOGI). The company has manufacturing facilities in Asia and offices in major cities in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to future results, including the statements regarding the potential for the io Digital Pen market and the digital pen segment being high-growth. Logitech's actual performance in the digital pen category could differ materially from that anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including our ability and the ability of others to further create and encourage the creation of compelling applications for the digital pen, the timing of new product and feature introductions by the Company and its competitors and their acceptance by the market, timely availability and pricing of products and components and the impact of competition on the Company's average selling prices and operating expenses, as well as generally those additional factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 20-F dated May 21, 2003, and subsequent filings, available from the SEC's Edgar database at www.sec.gov and upon request from Logitech by calling (510) 713-4220. Logitech does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements.
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Logitech, the Logitech logo and other Logitech marks are owned by Logitech and may be registered. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information on Logitech and its products, visit the Company's website at www.logitech.com.