SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jul 23, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Edulink, Inc (OTCBB:MYIQ) announced today the completion of an agreement to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Jaqkar, Inc. common stock in exchange for a total of 10 million shares of Edulink, Inc.'s restricted common stock. The closing date has been scheduled for August 1, 2003. Jaqkar will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Edulink.
Jaqkar, a privately owned publishing services firm, has developed unique approaches to bundling an array of services which provide simple and economical solutions for complex content development and distribution problems faced by publishers as a result of the convergence of print media with the digital world. Jaqkar's projected revenue for the fifteen month period August 1, 2003 through October, 2004 is in excess of $950,000 based upon current service and distribution agreements as well as service and distribution agreements currently being negotiated with both existing and new customers. These projections do not take into account anticipated shares of revenue from the actual sales of customers' content through Edulink's eKnowledgeXchange system, nor do the projections take into account the exponential increase in market demand for development services of the type provided by Jaqkar.
Jaqkar's Founder and President, Roxann Caraway, shall continue as President of the new subsidiary, with her compensation package consisting of a share of the subsidiary's net profits and stock and stock options vesting over a three year period. In defining one of the prime markets for Jaqkar's services, she stated: "We have learned that there exists today a very large group of accidental publishers, meaning firms and organizations not primarily in the publishing business, but nevertheless requiring distribution channels which provide constituents of these firms and organizations with secure as well as public access to the resultant developed digital content." A current client example: the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) http://www.disabilitybooksonline.com.
In addition to the so-called accidental publishers market, Jaqkar has developed a growing market of specialty publishers wishing to develop and deliver their content digitally either through Jaqkar's CD-ROM/DVD system or through a web based system. Current client examples: Equilibrium Press; Development and distribution: Magna Law Publishing, Fire Mountain Press http://www.firemountainpress.com, Portland State University, and NOVA Press.
Charlie Guy, Edulink's CEO, speaking of the acquisition stated: "We are very excited about the vast knowledge and experience that Jaqkar brings to our organization, as well as the current projected revenue and the anticipated potential growth of that revenue stream resulting from increasing market demands and the added functionalities Jaqkar will be able to offer through our knowledge sharing system's core technologies. We believe that Jaqkar will become a key component as we implement a series of expanded revenue generating products and services built upon our eKnowledgeXchange system. Jaqkar's experience in developing and testing its unique CD-ROM/DVD digital delivery system with Portland State University provides us with a very complementary use for our core technologies. We also believe that the services Jaqkar provides will help us in properly focusing on the use of our technologies as we expand to the Traditional Print, and e-Print on Demand delivery methods.
Speaking of this opportunity, Roxann Caraway added: "As the accidental publishers have recently become more aware of the benefits and cost savings resulting from the conversion to XML of their content to be distributed to their clients and/or constituents, we realized that to keep pace with this market, we would need to add additional functionality and capacity. Edulink's eKnowledgeXchange will provide us with this needed functionality. In addition, knowing that Edulink's system is integrated with the underlying native XML database currently being used by the US Department of Defense assures us of the needed scalability for which we were searching in order to meet the ever-increasing needs of our targeted markets"
About Edulink
Edulink's current business focus is on the near and long term opportunities to implement a series of revenue generating products and services built upon our knowledge sharing system's core technologies known as the eKnowledgeXchange. The Company's focus is not limited to the US K-12 market, but includes implementation in the international education marketplace as well as the utilization of these same core technologies to deploy revenue-generating models outside of the education market.
Edulink's core technology system, developed by its technology integration partner SAIC, and market tested over the last several years, is based on the integration of the three core foundations for digital asset or eKnowledge management: Storage & Retrieval, Repurposing, and Distribution. The eKnowledgeXchange will allow for the personalized secure and managed delivery of enhanced digitized assets or eknowledge utilizing one of our four proprietary delivery systems: the Internet, CD-ROM/DVD, Traditional Print, or e-Print on Demand. eKnowledge is knowledge as it exists in a profoundly networked world. It is not just a digitized collection of knowledge. eKnowledge consists of knowledge objects and knowledge flows that combine content, context, and insights on application.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT: This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the ability of Edulink, Inc. and Jaqkar, Inc.to grow its related businesses and/or consummate anticipated service or distribution agreements. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the limited operating history of Edulink as well as Jaqkar, the limited financial resources, domestic or global economic conditions, especially those relating to the publishing industry, activities of competitors and the presence of new or additional competitors, and conditions of equity markets. More information about the potential factors that could affect Edulink's business and financial results is included in Edulink's filings, available via the United States Securities & Exchange Commission.