DENVER, Colo., Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- TeleTech Holdings, Inc., (Nasdaq: TTEC) one of the fastest growing global providers of customer management and B2B infrastructure services, today announced that it has closed a strategic financing transaction for enhansiv, its remote-hosted eCRM technology solutions business. The move emphasizes TeleTech's commitment to making enhansiv the leading provider of eCRM solutions to the insource and outsource markets.
As part of its strategy to increase investment in enhansiv, TeleTech has closed a common stock equity financing transaction for enhansiv that enables TeleTech to mitigate much of the continuing start-up costs associated with the launch of this strategic technology offering, while retaining the right to ultimately buy back approximately 95 percent of the equity in enhansiv, exclusive of employee stock options. In 2001, TeleTech expects to bring on additional investors.
Under the terms of the agreement, TeleTech received a preferred stock interest in enhansiv. TeleTech has also extended a $7 million line of credit to enhansiv and has made revenue commitments of $9 million over four years. The transaction will provide enhansiv with resources to continue to accelerate its growth in all business aspects including product development, strategic alliances, and sales and marketing.
In mid-July, TeleTech announced the launch of its insource strategy, and in October, enhansiv was unveiled as a subsidiary dedicated to the development, deployment and management of remote-hosted eCRM technology solutions. enhansiv's first product offering, enhansiv 1.0, is a highly scalable, Web-centric eCRM technology that incorporates a leading-edge contact management component with all customer contact channels, including voice, e-mail, Web chat, Web co-browse, fax and intelligent voice response, in addition to VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) utilizing centralized remotely hosted automatic call distribution.
"Today's announcement reflects the successful execution of the next step in our insource strategy, which we've been moving toward since the launch of enhansiv," said Scott Thompson, chief executive officer, TeleTech. "Our technology financing strategy allows us to increase investments in enhansiv over the long term, enabling us to accelerate the growth of this important entity. This strategy allows us to continue to build shareholder value for TeleTech. We strongly believe that enhansiv's innovative technology platform, coupled with its relationship with TeleTech, provide it with a leading edge in the eCRM solutions delivery arena."
"We're extremely pleased with the reception enhansiv has received since its initial launch in October," said Milos Djokovic, chief executive officer, enhansiv. "We believe that enhansiv has one of the most scalable products in the market today. To date, we have several major global 1000 companies interested in our solution because of its scalability which is designed to meet needs of large corporations. We're on track with a very aggressive technology product introduction plan which includes new product functionalities and capabilities. The funding we sought from investors was a logical step in our evolution."
As a key component of TeleTech's insource strategy , the company will aggressively market enhansiv's product line to its Global 1000 client base. Additionally, TeleTech intends to implement enhansiv's solution within its own customer interaction centers (CIC) worldwide.
"enhansiv's centralized eCRM infrastructure will drive efficiencies in our operations, as well as drive down our infrastructure costs going forward," concluded Thompson. "The centralized eCRM infrastructure will enable TeleTech to avoid the build-out of costly data centers within each new CIC, as well as reduce the number of data centers required to support our existing global operations."
BUSINESS OUTLOOK
Based on TeleTech's current performance, the company is reaffirming its comfort with its guidance for the fourth quarter of 2000 and fiscal year 2001.
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For the fourth quarter of 2000, the company anticipates revenue to be within the range of $210 million to $228 million, and net income to be within the range of 20 to 22 cents per diluted share.
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For the fiscal year 2000, the company anticipates capital expenditures to be within the range of $105 to $115 million.
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For the fiscal year 2001, the company anticipates revenue to be within the range of $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion, and net income to be within the range of $1.01 to $1.06 per diluted share.
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For the fiscal year 2001, the company anticipates capital expenditures to be consistent with capital expenditures in 2000.
| Note: | these expectations do not include the anticipated acquisition of |
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| Newgen Results Corporation. TeleTech will provide an updated business | |
| outlook for the fourth quarter 2000 and fiscal year 2001 upon the close of | |
| the Newgen acquisition following Newgen's shareholder meeting on | |
| December 20, 2000. |
TeleTech Profile
Founded in 1982, TeleTech is the leading provider of integrated eCommerce- enabling customer relationship management solutions (eCRM) for global organizations predominantly in the telecommunications, financial services, technology, government and transportation industries. TeleTech has operations in eleven countries which include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. TeleTech's eCRM capabilities, including B2B electronic channel management and database management, help companies inform, acquire, service, grow and retain their customers throughout the entire relationship lifecycle. Through 45 customer interaction centers in the Americas, Europe and Asia, TeleTech couples high- velocity e-infrastructure service deployment with premier quality e-customer relationship management to assure our clients unparalleled success. Information regarding TeleTech Holdings can be found on the Worldwide Web at http://www.teletech.com.
enhansiv Profile
enhansiv was founded in 2000 with the vision of revolutionizing how businesses deploy customer relationship management solutions. enhansiv benefits companies by allowing them to have a centralized infrastructure for their eCRM functions offered via remote-hosted technology solutions. enhansiv is unique in the marketplace, offering businesses of all sizes a choice and providing clients with a holistic approach to meeting their strategic eCRM needs. enhansiv is leading the market in delivering businesses integrated, channel independent, hosted eCRM solutions across a wide variety of industries. Information regarding enhansiv can be found on the Worldwide Web at http://www.enhansiv.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
All statements not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In accordance with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, following are important factors that could cause TeleTech's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: lower than anticipated customer interaction center capacity utilization; the loss or delay in implementation of a customer management program; TeleTech's ability to build-out facilities in a timely and economic manner; greater than anticipated competition from new entrants into the customer care market, causing increased price competition or loss of clients; the loss of one or more significant clients; higher than anticipated start-up costs associated with new business opportunities and ventures such as enhansiv; TeleTech's ability to predict the potential volume or profitability of any future technology or consulting sales; TeleTech's agreements with clients may be canceled on relatively short notice; and TeleTech's ability to generate a specific level of revenue is dependent upon customer interest in and use of the Company's clients' products and services. Readers are encouraged to review TeleTech's 1999 Annual Report on Form 10-K , Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, for first, second and third quarters 2000, and other publicly filed documents which describe other important factors that may impact TeleTech's business, results of operations and financial condition. TeleTech undertakes no obligation to update its forward looking statements after the date of this release. SOURCE TeleTech Holdings, Inc.
CONTACT: Kirsten Hamling, Investor Relations, 303-894-7379, kirstenhamling@teletech.com, or Claire Maledon, Media Relations, 720-947-6182, clairemaledon@teletech.com, both of TeleTech Holdings, Inc./