EO Inc. To Become Olivetti’s Strategic Partner in Europe
LONDON — March 9, 1993 — Olivetti today announced an agreement with EO Inc, the company which is launching the first personal communicator onto the market, under which the Italian company becomes EO's strategic European partner together with AT&T, Matsushita and Marubeni. As part of the agreement, Olivetti will acquire an equity investment in EO and Olivetti Vice Chairman, Elserino Piol will become a member of EO's board of directors.
The personal communicator is a revolutionary tool for wireless person-to-person communications, implementing the same technologies used by cellular telephones. EO extends the voice communications functionalities of the telephone into the area of written communications: personal messages, business memos, text, drawings and data can be sent to anyone from anywhere via radio frequency transmission technology. The EO product, which discards the traditional keyboard in favor of an easy-to-use electronic handwriting recognition system, can also be used as a sophisticated organizer thanks to an automatic message filing and classification service, which stores handwritten notes produced with a stylus device.
The applications of the EO personal communicator will be of interest to vast numbers of users, both individuals and business users. World demand for this new class of personal communicators is expected to grow at an exponential rate, from one million users in 1994 to 100 million by the year 2000.
Commenting on the agreement, Hermann Hauser, chairman of EO Europe, said, "Our strategic partnership with Olivetti is a very significant announcement as it completes our global alliance portfolio. EO's growth strategy is based on its partnership with AT&T, Matsushita and Marubeni, with Olivetti as the vital fourth leg. EO is now ready to take the leading role in the global personal communicator marketplace."
Corrado Passera, Olivetti's managing director, said: "With today's announcement, Europe will have access to leading-edge technology in the advanced personal communications field. Our agreement with EO is another step in the international partnership strategy we have been pursuing for the last few years. Olivetti's partnership with EO and several of the world's leading players in consumer electronics and telecommunications, is further confirmation of our leadership of the European information technology marketplace. There is enormous development potential in the integration between telecommunications and information technology, and the partnership announced today constitutes an example of extraordinary interest with a great future ahead."
Piol, vice chairman, Olivetti Group, added: "This agreement is of great strategic importance for Olivetti since it marks our official entry into advanced wireless communications. We believe this market will experience dramatic growth over the next few years and it is therefore essential that Olivetti, as the sole European manufacturer should operate from a position of strength, through EO, in order to take full advantage of its potentially huge business opportunities."
CONTACT:
Kate Moore of Olivetti Press Office, 44-81-780 8232,
or
David Scott or Tarquin Henderson of PA Consulting Group, 44-71-730-9000