Altamar Buys Ilotron Remains

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Altamar Networks, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ditech Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: DITC), today announced the completion of the purchase of some of the tangible assets and intellectual property of Ilotron Limited (in administration), a United Kingdom based developer of photonic network equipment. In addition, approximately 25 engineers and managers formerly employed by Ilotron were hired. At the time of the purchase, administrators had been appointed under the UK's Insolvency Act to manage the affairs of Ilotron and dispose of its assets. The purchase of assets was an all-cash transaction. The total cost for purchasing the tangible assets and intellectual property will be less than $1 million. The hiring of the new employees in the UK will nominally increase the company’s quarterly costs for research and development. The purchase of Ilotron’s assets and intellectual property enables Altamar Networks to add ultra-long haul capabilities to Titanium, Altamar Networks’ integrated and scalable optical system transport product designed for the core optical network. The addition of the new ultra-long haul capability is achieved without resorting to specialized and expensive technologies. The staff hired enhances Altamar Networks’ competencies in transmission system design, optical switching and network planning and simulation. Altamar Networks expects production shipment of Titanium in the spring of 2002.“This transaction gives Altamar Networks the ability to address the ultra-long haul segment of the transport market,” said Tim Montgomery, CEO of Altamar Networks, and president, chairman and CEO of Ditech Communications. “This outstanding technology will enable Altamar Networks to deliver a best-in-class transmission solution, matching our best-in-class optical core switch design. The addition of a substantial pool of talented engineers enables us to immediately meet our critical hiring goals for the first half of the year, which obviously enhances our ability to deliver Titanium.”Altamar Networks