The companies have signed a definitive agreement for Hostopia to purchase customer assets including approximately 14,000 Domain Direct, NetIdentity and ItsYourDomain.com (IYD) customer accounts. The companies indicated that accounts involved in the transaction will continue to be served under the familiar Domain Direct brand, which will operate as a managed service by Hostopia.

Elliot Noss, President and CEO, Tucows noted, ”I am confident these shared hosting customers will enjoy quality service and support with Hostopia directly. This move is the first part of a strategy to reposition our retail business to help individuals and small businesses build their identities online.”

Hostopia will pay US$1.6 million in cash for these assets, with adjustments made on closing. This amount is payable 20% on signing of the agreement and 80% upon the closing of the transaction, which is scheduled to occur on May 15, 2008. The companies plan to migrate these accounts to Hostopia’s unified web service platform by July 2008.

Colin Campbell, CEO, Hostopia remarked, ”We are very pleased to have concluded this transaction. We are already hosting some of the Tucows Retail Service Group’s users so the impact on customers should be minimal. Our plan is to provide customers with numerous upgrades and additional value-added services to earn their loyalty and continued business. Traditional web hosting is fast evolving to the SaaS (software as a service) model and Hostopia is perfectly positioned to offer these services to these customers.”

Tucows provides Internet services for web hosting companies and ISPs. Through its global network of over 9,000 service providers it provides millions of email boxes and manages over eight million domains. Tucows is an accredited registrar with ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). Tucows holds a domain name portfolio of approximately 150,000 domain names that are available for sale, monetized through advertising and support our wholesale Personal Names Service. Our Retail division sells Tucows services to consumers and small business owners through Domain Direct, ItsYourDomain.com and NetIdentity. Tucows.com remains one of the most popular software download sites on the Internet.

Hostopia is a provider of web services that are designed to enable small and medium-sized businesses to establish and maintain an Internet presence. The company’s customers are communication services providers, including telecommunication carriers, cable companies, internet service providers, domain registrars, and web hosting service providers. Hostopia’s customers purchase its web services on a wholesale basis and resell these services under their own brands to small and medium-sized businesses. The company provides customers with the technology, infrastructure, and support services to enable them to offer web services, while saving research and development as well as capital and operating costs typically associated with the design, development, and delivery of web services.

For more information please visit: http://about.tucows.com.

To learn more about Hostopia, please visit: www.hostopia.com.

Financial details of the cash and stock transaction were not disclosed. William King, CEO of Alentus Corporation noted, ”This acquisition provides a stable and solid addition of Linux powered web hosting to the Alentus client base. And at the same time, it offers Windows hosting options to Website Source and SpeedFox clients. We are pleased with how the companies complement one another and look forward to growing our client base by offering a more complete menu of website hosting services to the Internet community.”

The acquisition immediately adds $2.6M in annual revenue to Alentus’ current long-term profitable operations record and will add an additional 14,000 clients to Alentus already impressive client portfolio. The current Website Source infrastructure is being integrated into the Alentus global, redundant Cisco-powered network, and all Texas staff has been retained.

Founded in 1998, Website Source and SpeedFox offer Linux-based shared web site hosting, Virtual Private Servers (VPS), Dedicated Servers, E-Commerce, and Domain Registration services. WebSite Source operates a Cisco-powered network in downtown Austin, TX and manages over 200 servers.

Alentus Corporation is based in Laguna Niguel, California, with Data Center and Network Operations Center facilities in Edmonton, Alberta. The company provides Windows web hosting, SharePoint Hosting, SQL Hosting, Microsoft Exchange hosting, and Windows Dedicated Servers to thousands of small- to medium-sized companies and customized solutions to larger organizations including many Fortune 500 clients. Alentus is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and in discussions with several North American and European hosting and managed services providers to further enhance network and service offerings.

To learn more about WebSite Source, please visit: www.websitesource.com.

For more information about SpeedFox, please visit: www.speedfox.com

To learn more about Alentus Internet Services, please visit: www.alentus.com.

Uplinkearth accepted the all-cash offer last week. The companies plan to migrate all users of record from uplinkearth’s data center facility to Hostopia’s unified web services platform by June 30, 2008. The companies indicated that all users shall continue to be served under the familiar brand of uplinkearth, which will operate as a managed service by Hostopia.

Colin Campbell, CEO of Hostopia noted, ”We are very pleased to have concluded this agreement with uplinkearth. They have approximately 12,500 small business subscribers, which we feel are very compatible with the Hostopia web services platform. Our strategy will be to migrate all users and present them with many upgraded features and services. Over time, we will expect additional value-added services to be a logical upgrade path for many of these small businesses. Hostopia’s main focus is private-labeled, wholesale outsourced web services that we sell to Telco’s and broadband providers. Acquisitions such as uplinkearth complement our organic growth plan by adding end-users to our unified platform and giving us revenue-per-user opportunities through the many additional value-added services we offer, such as fax-to-email and collaborative email with wireless mobility synchronization.”

Michael Yablonowitz, Co-founder and President of Uplinkearth added, ”My partners and I have built a very successful hosting services business over the years. We are experiencing increased demand for new services from our customers which can drive opportunity for our business to grow. We decided the market timing was ideal to transfer our user base over to a highly capable provider in the hosting and SaaS arena – one who can deliver the high-demand services our users need. Hostopia’s proven credentials and track record in migrating large numbers of hosted business customers made them the ideal choice as our chosen buyer. We think our users will eagerly respond to the many new upgrades and value-added services Hostopia plans to offer them.”

Earlier this year, Hostopia reported a 42% increase in its operating income with record third quarter revenue, for the third quarter of 2007.

Highlights included: – Q3 revenue increased 29.8% year over year; 7.1% sequentially from Q2 – 31st consecutive quarter of increasing revenue – 17th consecutive quarter of positive operating income – Announced the launch of new Nexthaus mobile data synchronization applications – Closed 9 new customer contracts for web services, templates and mobile sync services – Added 8,000 end users.

Financial Results for the Third Quarter of Fiscal 2008 Revenues increased 29.8% to $7.3 million in the three months ended December 31, 2007, compared to the same period last year. This was the 31st consecutive quarter of higher revenues. Sequential revenue growth of 7.1% in the third quarter was primarily due to the migration of 28,000 end users onto the Hostopia platform in the previous quarter as well as the net addition of 8,000 end users this quarter. Two website template license contracts also contributed to the sequential revenue growth. Gross profit of $6.3 million increased by $1.4 million compared to last year. Income before interest and income taxes was $643,000 up $189,000, compared to the third quarter of last year.

The 42% increase in income before interest and income taxes was tempered by the $1.2 million increase in operating expenses resulting primarily from: (1) personnel costs associated with two new start-up units within Hostopia: Website Experts (website creation services) and the Nexthaus mobile syncing service, (2) higher amortization expenses related to the acquisition of licensed technology and Nexthaus’ intellectual property, (3) increased operating costs and sales commissions related to the large end user migrations in the second quarter, and (4) the effect of the appreciation of the Canadian dollar on our Canadian dollar denominated expenses. Income before income taxes of $950,000 was $320,000 higher than the same period last year because of improved operating profitability as well as $131,000 higher net interest income.

As revenues continue to grow over the remainder of the year, both from our existing and expanding customer base as well as our expanded product offerings, we expect our income before interest and taxes will continue to improve. Net income of $615,000 was $242,000 higher than the same quarter last year. Basic and diluted net income per common share were both $0.05 this quarter compared to $0.05 for basic and $0.04 for diluted net income per common share in the third quarter of last year. Net income per share was little changed as higher net income was offset by the increase in weighted average shares outstanding related to the Company’s public offering of 4.83 million shares in the third quarter of last year and the exercise of 516,000 stock options this year.

Hostopia is a provider of web services that are designed to enable small and medium-sized businesses to establish and maintain an Internet presence. The company’s customers are communication services providers, including telecommunication carriers, cable companies, internet service providers, domain registrars, and web hosting service providers. Hostopia’s customers purchase its web services on a wholesale basis and resell these services under their own brands to small and medium-sized businesses. The company provides customers with the technology, infrastructure, and support services to enable them to offer web services, while saving research and development as well as capital and operating costs typically associated with the design, development, and delivery of web services.

For more information about Hostopia, please visit: www.hostopia.com.

Diligent will become part of the IBM System Storage brand of offerings. Headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, with research and development located in Tel Aviv, Israel, Diligent’s technologies and employees will become part of the IBM System Storage business unit of the IBM Systems and Technology Group.

Diligent develops in-line data de-duplication software that is integrated with server and storage infrastructures to help organizations significantly reduce the amount and cost of physical storage required in data centers. Enterprise and mid-sized organizations are faced with data centers that are reaching a breaking point of complexity and manageability, while at the same time experiencing explosive demands for storage for new data, transactions, email and back-up files. Data de-duplication is an emerging technology that organizations are investing in today and Diligent’s innovative technology provides a single solution to support data protection, archive and data-retention applications — all while maintaining the integrity of the data.

The Diligent acquisition will be an important part of IBM’s New Enterprise Data Center model, which helps clients improve IT efficiency and facilitates the rapid deployment of new IT services for future business growth. The new model is based on best practices for virtualization, green IT, service management and cloud computing.

Research indicates that organizations are increasingly investing in data de-duplication solutions for e-mail, database and other storage-intensive and mission-critical applications. According to a recent study of 152 Fortune 1000 enterprises by TheInfoPro, 56 percent of those surveyed spent more on data de-duplication in 2007 when compared to 2006, and that increased spending trend is expected to continue in 2008.

For years, IBM has been helping clients manage their information infrastructure with solutions that help address information availability, data retention, and security requirements. The acquisition of Diligent maps to the overall IBM enterprise strategy of developing more efficient, cost effective data centers and will further extend IBM’s industry leading storage portfolio.

Combined with IBM, Diligent’s data de-duplication technology and solutions intend to: — address the unique data de-duplication requirements of enterprise clients for maximum in-line performance, scalability and data integrity; — complement clients’ installed backup/recovery applications (e.g. Tivoli Storage Manager and others); — reduce the amount of time required to backup and recover information; — enable the economical electronic transmission of back-up and archive data from primary to remote disaster recovery sites; — reduce the amount of physical storage required to help reduce costs and energy consumption.

Andy Monshaw, General Manager, IBM System Storage noted, ”Diligent’s data de-duplication software is a critical technology that will be integrated into the IBM Storage portfolio to further extend our information infrastructure strategy, allowing our clients to eliminate redundant data and streamline the infrastructure required to support their business — which can result in dramatic improvements in data center efficiency. Diligent’s industry-proven data de-duplication offerings are exceptionally suited for mid-range and enterprise clients, uniquely combining in-line performance, scalability and data integrity and extends IBM’s strong portfolio of strategic offerings that will help our clients reduce infrastructure costs, improve energy efficiency in the data center, and enable them to fully utilize their information on demand.”

Doron Kempel, Chairman and CEO, Diligent remarked, ”We are pleased to become a key member of the IBM System Storage family, knowing IBM has the industry’s most comprehensive vision for the future direction of storage and data-protection. Moreover, IBM has the requisite technologies in order to realize that vision. The combination of IBM and Diligent will deliver increased innovation and industry-focused data protection solutions. Our customers will significantly benefit as our talented teams and our storage technology advancements merge with IBM’s innovative research and development group and world-wide reach in sales, service, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution. With IBM, Diligent’s data de-duplication technology has the best opportunity to make a significant impact in the industry, on behalf of the end-users.”

This is the third storage related acquisition for IBM in the past few months. In January, IBM formally announced it had acquired Israeli-based XIV to address emerging storage opportunities such as Web 2.0 applications, digital archives and digital media. Earlier this month, IBM announced its intent to acquire FilesX, a leading provider of continuous data protection software for mission-critical applications and remote offices.

IBM has industry recognized leadership in storage and server hardware and software, and has made several strategic storage-related acquisitions recently in addition to XIV and FilesX, including Arsenal, NovusCG, and Softek. Already the industry leader in storage services, IBM continues to grow its storage services offerings and presents customers with strategic solutions to deliver integrated software, storage and server hardware, services and research in standardized offerings that can be used by customers of all sizes to help them transform their businesses.

IBM’s acquisition of Diligent supports the IBM growth strategy and capital allocation model, as part of the company’s overall objective for earnings-per-share growth through 2010.

Diligent delivers scalable, enterprise-class disk-based data protection solutions. Diligent’s ProtecTIER platform, powered by HyperFactor, a game-changing inline data de-duplication technology, enables customers to protect more data while recording less of it, all without disrupting existing policies, practices and procedures in their data center.

To learn more about Diligent, please visit: www.diligent.com.

For more information about IBM, please visit: www.ibm.com.

Jeff Margolis, Chairman and CEO of TriZetto noted, ”The achievement of TriZetto’s Integrated Healthcare Management vision is a multi-year journey that will require both conventional and non-conventional business investment within an integrated framework. Payers are in the best position to lead the way towards fundamental industry improvements, and our technology solutions are essential in supporting that transformation. Apax Partners, which shares our strategic view of the marketplace, provides an outstanding opportunity to accelerate solutions development investments on behalf of our payer customers to create an integrated linkage among consumers, providers, employers and brokers.”

With $35 billion in funds under advice and significant expertise in healthcare and technology, the terms of the agreement plan a merger, and TriZetto shareholders will receive $22.00 per share in cash, representing a 29% premium over the 30 calendar-day average closing price of the company’s stock. The transaction is valued at approximately $1.4 billion, including consideration for stock options and shares related to TriZetto’s outstanding convertible notes. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and The Regence Group, both customers of TriZetto, are providing a portion of the funding for the transaction and will be equity investors in the newly private company.

Buddy Gumina, a partner and head of U.S. healthcare at Apax Partners remarked, ”We see the confluence of healthcare and information technology as a key area of focus for strategic investments. TriZetto represents a unique asset with a tremendous opportunity to drive positive changes in organized systems of healthcare, both in the U.S. and abroad. We look forward to helping the company accelerate the realization of its vision, and we are delighted to have the investment participation of two of TriZetto’s key customers who have had a long history in working with the company and recognizing the strategic importance of IT as a critical component of adapting to the needs of the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.”

Bill Sullivan, a partner at Apax Partners, offered, ”TriZetto is led by an outstanding management team that we know very well, and we are looking forward to working with them as our strategic partner on the next stage of the company’s development. Furthermore, we are delighted to be investing in a company that straddles two of our core investment sectors, healthcare and technology.”

TriZetto’s Board of Directors approved the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including shareholder and regulatory approvals. Closing is expected to take between four and six months. The company does not anticipate any material changes in its product offerings, staffing or facility locations as a result of this change in ownership.

RBC Capital Markets is the exclusive debt underwriter on the deal. Deutsche Bank Securities acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Apax Partners. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and Regence were advised by Cain Brothers and Company. UBS Investment Bank served as the exclusive financial advisor to TriZetto.

Apax Partners is one of the world’s leading private equity investment groups. It operates across the United States, Europe, Israel and Asia and has more than 30 years of investing experience. Funds under the advice of Apax Partners total $35 billion around the world. These Funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. Apax Partners Funds invest in companies across its global sectors of Tech and Telecom, Retail and Consumer, Media, Healthcare and Financial and Business Services. Significant recent investments by the Apax Partners Healthcare and Tech andTelecom teams include: General Healthcare Group, Capio, Apollo Hospitals, Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, Spectrum Laboratories, SMART Technologies and TDC A/S.

Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, TriZetto’s technology services nearly half of the U.S. insured population, to drive the convergence of health benefit administration, care management and constituent engagement. The company provides premier information technology solutions that enable payers and other constituents in the healthcare supply chain to improve the coordination of benefits and care for healthcare consumers. Healthcare payers include national and regional health insurance plans, and benefits administrators that provide transaction services to self-insured employer groups. The company’s payer-focused information technology offerings include enterprise and component software, hosting and business process outsourcing services, and consulting. Headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif

For more information bout Apax Partners, please visit: www.apax.com.

To learn more, please visit: www.trizetto.com.

The acquisition closely follows the Company’s recent purchase of Comcation and is the second transaction in what Sitestar expects to be a year of increased deal flow and growth in new, opportunistic market segments.

Frank R. Erhartic, Jr., CEO for Sitestar noted, ”N2 The Net’s narrowband and broadband customer base fits squarely into Sitestar’s acquisition sweet-spot where our economies of scale and value-added service offerings enable us to generate stronger margins and retain customers longer than smaller ISPs can. We are encouraged by our progress so far in 2008 and anticipate closing more opportunities by leveraging our increased cash flow to capitalize upon the current economic climate.”

N2 The Net customers can look forward to an easy transition, access to additional services such as Surfboost Web Accelerator as well as other benefits including advanced spam filtering, extremely reliable network uptime and extended support hours, along with Sitestar’s friendly, personal support.

Mr. Erhartic added, ”We welcome the former N2 The Net customers to Sitestar and pledge to deliver outstanding service and support.”

Sitestar is an Internet and computer solutions provider that offers narrow-band (dial-up) services and broadband Internet access services (ISDN, DSL, satellite, cable and wireless), web hosting and design, and other value-added services including web acceleration, spam and virus filtering as well as spyware protection. Headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia, Sitestar maintains multiple sites of operation and provides services to customers throughout the U.S. and Canada, with concentrations of customers in the Mid-Atlantic and Rocky Mountain regions in the U.S. and in Ontario, Canada.

To learn more, please visit: www.sitestar.com.

The acquisition will combine the expertise of FastServers.net in managed dedicated hosting with Layered Technologies’ leading Grid and unmanaged offerings. The combination of Layered Technologies and FastServers will offer a new range of superior services significantly benefiting customers.

“Thousands of clients rely on the exceptional service offerings of FastServers.net, and the combination of the two companies will expand the range of offerings and provide additional scale for client growth,” said Jack Finlayson, Chief Executive Officer of Layered Technologies. “We look forward to bringing these two exceptionally talented teams together to service our customers and meet the demands of the high growth hosting industry.”

“With Layered Technologies and FastServers.net working together, business owners will view their managed service provider as a valued, long-term partner that helps manage IT infrastructure,” said Ian Andrusyk, President and CEO of FastServers.Net.

Layered Technologies will begin immediate integration of the two companies’ operations, product development, distribution and customer support organizations to ensure a smooth transition and immediate value for customers, employees and partners. Combined, the company will serve over 6,000 clients.

For additional information on Layered Technologies visit http://www.LayeredTech.com.
For additional information on FastServers, visit http://FastServers.net

The deal is the first consolidation in Irish web host market in 10 years. Award winning web hoster and domain registrar Novara operate under the trade names host.ie and register.ie and add over eight years of intensive industry experience in the Irish webhosting market to Digiweb’s existing specialist hosting team and datacentre services.

Dan King, Hosting and Managed Infrastructure Manager with Digiweb noted, ”Our drive to bring better services and value to the Irish hosting market has been further strengthened by the acquisition of Novara. We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Novara’s experienced and knowledgeable team to Digiweb, and look forward to supporting existing Novara customers with the same expert team and top service they already enjoy, and offering them now a single solution provider for their hosting, datacentre, broadband and telecoms needs.”

The Irish hosting industry has been fragmented for some time and this represents the first major acquisition and consolidation in the Irish market in 10 years. Digiweb’s re-entry into the hosting market in 2006 has seen them capture significant market share and high profile customers, hosted from their custom-built datacentre in Blanchardstown. Digiweb has also reported that it is eyeing further acquisitions in hosting and voice in Ireland and the UK regions.

Eoin Costello, Founder and Managing Director of Novara remarked, ”Novara customers and staff will benefit hugely from Digiweb’s proven commitment to the Irish hosting industry. Digiweb’s determination to become the number one provider in the Irish hosting market, there being a wholly owned Irish business with strong customer service and business growth as a focus, made them the obvious choice as the best long term home to our customers. We know that they will be well looked after.”

Digiweb Ltd is one of Ireland’s leading Telecoms and Internet Services Providers, offering Wireless and Fixed Broadband, Telephony, and Web Hosting services. Digiweb is 100% Irish owned and run, and currently employ 155 staff in Dublin, Dundalk, Waterford and Limerick. Digiweb was the 2007 Irish Telecommunications Company of the Year, and 2007 Irish ICT Company of the Year, and has been ranked by Deloitte in the Top 3 fastest growing companies in Ireland for each of the last 3 years. Digiweb has also been ranked within the Top 100 companies by Deloitte for the past 3 years in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Digiweb is a provider in the Irish broadband market having established an extensive wholly owned telecoms network across the country. The company also services clients throughout Ireland and Europe for Web Hosting, Data Centre Services, and Satellite Broadband, and is currently developing wireless networks in a number of northern European countries.

To learn more, please visit: www2.digiweb.ie.

Burlington, MA-based Collaboration Online, does business under multiple brands such as groupSPARK and AgileWave CRM selling hosted Microsoft Exchange Server, Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Paul Chisholm, Chairman and CEO of mindSHIFT noted, ”Collaboration Online dramatically expands our market reach. We are now able to provide small and mid-size businesses with additional enterprise-class messaging and collaboration tools which will assist them in increasing growth and corporate productivity. It also enables us to expand our geographic reach considerably.”

Ravi Agarwal, CEO of Collaboration Online remarked, ”We are delighted to join forces with mindSHIFT, an East Coast powerhouse of managed IT and VoIP services. Their considerable resources will enable us to more quickly become the market leader in hosted services, reach more customers, and offer additional industry-leading hosted software services.”

Founded in 2002, Collaboration Online provides hosted Microsoft Exchange Server, Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft Dynamics CRM to partners and small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) under multiple brands.

The company also markets its hosted SaaS offering as a private label service through a strong reseller channel. These resellers are able to market the company’s hosted services under their own brands using the company’s state-of the-art Private Label Application Delivery (PLAD) platform. The PLAD platform enables channel partners to resell the services as part of their own product offering, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in development and support costs.

The acquisition provides mindSHIFT with strategic value in three areas: 1. a high growth opportunity in the SMB market to provide a larger breadth of industry-leading enterprise-class hosted services 2. an automated and scalable provisioning and support platform that dramatically lowers the costs of customer acquisition and support 3. a successful and mature reseller program.

With operations in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., mindSHIFT is a Managed Services Provider (MSP) offering managed IT services, software-as-a-service (SaaS), VoIP, compliance, e-business application development and professional services to small and medium-sized organizations. The company’s portfolio of managed services provides a comprehensive solution which includes such critical services as email management and administration, electronic backup for servers and desktops, virus and spam protection, desktop support, and server management — either at the customers’ premises or completely off-site. Managed services customers are supported by both a 24-hour Network Operations Center for proactive management support and a call center which diagnoses and resolves all end-user desktop issues. For advanced and larger businesses, the company provides business application migrations, storage area network upgrades and complex hosting applications. Additionally, mindSHIFT has superior expertise and experience in meeting the compliance requirements of financial services firms, as well as the complex demands of the legal community for the integration of applications such as document management.

Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, Collaboration Online, Limited Company is the leading provider of hosted enterprise-class messaging and collaboration solutions including hosted Microsoft Exchange Server, Windows SharePoint Services and Dynamics CRM. These hosted services are offered on shared and dedicated servers to small and mid-size businesses around the world. Full mobile access is also offered for BlackBerry, Treo, PocketPC, SmartPhone and Windows Mobile handheld devices. Hosted Exchange customers receive free Outlook 2007, live 24×7 U.S.-based technical support, advanced spam and virus filtering and a 100% uptime guarantee on dedicated servers.

For more information, please visit: www.mindshift.com.

The approvals were provided by the Federal Communications Commission and a number of state public utility commissions. At a Special Meeting of Stockholders, held February 29, 2008, holders of a majority of the company’s outstanding shares approved the agreement and plan of merger pursuant to which an affiliate of Platinum Equity will acquire all outstanding shares of Covad for $1.02 per share in cash. The parties expect to close the transaction on April 15, 2008.

Late last year, Covad extended its Line Sharing Agreement with AT and T. The Agreement will continue to May 2009, and also includes extentions of the commercial terms as to former BellSouth territory, and guarantees access to AT and T copper and remote-terminal facilities for new Covad line share customers. The agreement also provides for commercial access to AT and T copper facilities in the former Bellsouth territory, also through May 2009. Covad and ATT also resolved a number of disputes.

Platinum Equity is a global M and O firm specialized in the merger, acquisition and operation of companies that provide services and solutions to customers in a broad range of business markets, including information technology, software, telecommunications, logistics, manufacturing, metals services and distribution. Since its founding in 1995 by entrepreneur Tom Gores, Platinum Equity has completed more than 75 acquisitions with more than $23 billion in aggregate annual revenue at time of acquisition.

Covad is a nationwide provider of integrated voice and data communications, offering DSL, Voice Over IP, T1, broadband wireless, web hosting, managed security, IP and dial-up, and bundled voice and data services directly through its network and Internet Service Providers, value-added resellers, telecommunications carriers and affinity groups to small and medium-sized businesses and home users. Covad broadband services are currently available across the nation in 44 states and 235 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and can be purchased by more than 57 million homes and businesses, which represent over 50 percent of all US homes and businesses. Corporate headquarters is located at 110 Rio Robles San Jose, CA 95134. Telephone: 1-888-GO-COVAD.

To learn more about Platinum Equity, please visit: www.platinumequity.com.

For more information about Covad, please visit: www.covad.com.