28 Mar 2012 07:00
Amphion Partner Company Secures Credit Agreement
London and New York 28 March 2012 - Amphion Innovations plc (LSE: AMP) announces that its Partner Company, Axcess International Inc. (AXSI.PK), a provider of intelligent Wireless IDs, has entered into a credit agreement with RFID LLC. The immediate credit facility totals $1.48 million and under circumstances related primarily to the intellectual property litigation activities, a total of $10 million could be made available.
Axcess has a portfolio of patents, of which 11 have issued to date and 2 are still in prosecution with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Axcess filed a lawsuit in Dallas in the 132nd District Court for the State of Texas, Case 3:10-cv-01033-F on Friday 21 May 2010 against Savi Technology, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,294,953 entitled "High Sensitivity Demodulator For A Radio Tag And Method", and 7,271,727 entitled "Dual Frequency Radio Tag For A Radio Frequency Identification System". The trial is set for the first quarter of 2013 and various pre-trial motions and hearings are under way, including preparations for a Markman hearing which is now scheduled for 9 April 2012
The credit agreement provides for the funding of a patent licensing programme to begin in 2012 designed to provide additional revenue to the company based on the 11 patents in its portfolio. The agreement further provides the potential to restructure short term debt, pay accrued legal bills related to the various patent litigation activities, and to provide funding for overhead and administrative operations. The returns to the investors participating in the credit agreement will, in most circumstances, accrue mainly from the patent litigation and patent licensing programmes.
Allan Griebenow, President and CEO of Axcess said, "Axcess International's intellectual property is the cornerstone to a broad range of automated wireless identification applications in use today. We see the harvesting of our IP portfolio with the help of partners such as RFID LLC as a key element of Axcess' business going forward. This credit facility is an important step in the prosecution of our current infringement actions with Savi, which we believe will create potential licensing opportunities and a financial platform in support of our continuing operations."
Richard Morgan, CEO of Amphion and Chairman of Axcess, added, "Good intellectual property is one of the critical foundations of each of our Partner Companies. We have worked closely with Axcess over many years to develop innovative products based on defensible patents and other intellectual property. We are pleased that this investor group shares our belief, supported by our first class legal teams, that Axcess' technology and IP is an important part of this broad and growing industry. We are committed to extracting fair value for our inventions through success in the market with innovative products and leading partners as well as from licenses from those who seek to practice the art covered by our patents".
Following additional investment in support of Axcess over the last few years, Amphion Innovations' ownership of Axcess is now 13.8% through its holdings of equity and warrants. Amphion's ownership excludes approximately $1.8 million in debt most of which is convertible into common stock.
For further information please contact:
Amphion Innovations plc
Charlie Morgan +1 212 210 6224
Cardew Group
Tim Robertson +44 20 7930 0777
Seymour Pierce Limited (Nominated Adviser)
Freddie Crossley/ Mark Percy +44 20 7107 8300
About Amphion Innovations plc
Amphion (LSE: AMP) builds shareholder value in emerging companies in the medical and technology sectors, by using a focused, hands-on company building approach, based on decades of experience in both the US and UK. Amphion has a significant shareholding in 7 Partner Companies developing proven technologies targeting substantial commercial marketplaces. The Amphion model has been refined to optimise the commercialisation of patents and other intellectual property within the Partner Companies. The Partner Companies collectively own or control over 200 separately identified pieces of intellectual property, a number which grows rapidly each year.
On the web: www.amphionplc.com
About Axcess International Inc.
Axcess International Inc. (OTCBB: AXSI) provides intelligent Wireless IDs for business encompassing local location identification, tracking and control capabilities using its patented MicroWirelessTM technology platform. MicroWireless, which is based on active RFID principles, forms the economic and technological sweet spot for automated, autonomously-powered low cost, miniature, wireless devices. Axcess is a Partner Company of Amphion Innovations plc (AIM: AMP). For more information on Axcess, visit www.axcessinc.com.