COMPANY NEWS
CopyTele Announces License of CopyTele's Display Technology to Videocon Group and Securities Purchase Agreements
MELVILLE, NY - November 2, 2007: CopyTele, Inc. (OTCBB:COPY) announced today that it has entered into a license agreement with Videocon Industries Limited (Videocon) of India under which Videocon will manufacture and market products, including TV's, using CopyTele's display technology. Under the agreement, Videocon will pay CopyTele a license fee of US$ 11 million payable in installments over a twenty-seven (27) month period and a royalty based on display sales by Videocon, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals in India. Videocon and CopyTele will jointly cooperate to select other potential licensees of CopyTele's display technology. Furthermore, Videocon and CopyTele will each have one senior advisor to the other's board of directors
To further strengthen the alliance, one of the Videocon Group companies has agreed to purchase 20,000,000 shares of CopyTele's common stock and CopyTele has agreed to purchase, subject to certain conditions, 1,495,845 Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) of Videocon within 30 days. Videocon's GDRs are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
Under the license agreement, Videocon and CopyTele will work together to effect the license of CopyTele's display technology to Videocon and to fabricate production tooling and fixtures for Videocon to mass produce the CopyTele display. Videocon has production facilities that are currently producing Plasma displays and has announced plans to set up display production facilities in China, India and Italy. In addition, Videocon has purchased from Thomson SA of France production facilities for CRT-type displays. Videocon intends to modify its current Plasma display production facilities and to use the CRT-production facilities and know-how it acquired from Thomson to produce the CopyTele display. Videocon also has extensive experience in technologies utilized in the CopyTele display. Videocon has experience in phosphor and vacuum sealing technologies which can be adapted to CopyTele's display.
CopyTele Chairman and CEO, Denis A. Krusos, said "We believe that our complementary know-how make CopyTele and Videocon an ideal alliance to introduce into the flat panel display market low cost and energy efficient displays to meet the requirements for the mass consumer market."
Videocon Industries Limited is the 3.5 Billion US Dollar flagship company of the Videocon Group, one of India's leading business houses. Videocon Group is a fully integrated consumer electronics and home appliances enterprise with backward integration in Plasma Panel, CRT Glass, Color Picture Tubes and other key components for the consumer electronics, home appliances and components industries. The company also operates in the Oil & Gas sector through its 25% participating interest in Ravva Oil Field which produces 50,000 barrels of oil per day. The group also has participating interests in exploration activities in Oman, Timor, Brazil, and Australia. The Videocon Group has the widest sales & service network in India supporting seventeen locally-based factories. In addition, the Group operates facilities in Italy, Poland, Oman, China and Mexico. For more information on Videocon, visit www.videoconworld.com.
CopyTele's principal operations include the development, production and marketing of its thin flat low voltage phosphor displays and the development, production and marketing of multi-functional encryption products, hardware and software-based, that provide information security for domestic and international users over virtually every communication media. For additional information, visit CopyTele's website at www.copytele.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements:Statements that are not historical fact may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical facts, but rather reflect CopyTele's current expectations concerning future events and results. CopyTele generally uses the words "believes", "expects", "intends", "plans", "anticipates", "likely", "will" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements, including those concerning CopyTele's expectations, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond CopyTele's control, which may cause CopyTele's actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In evaluating such statements as well as the future prospects of CopyTele, specific consideration should be given to various factors, including the following: CopyTele's prior history of losses and negative cash flows from operations; CopyTele's ability to obtain debt or equity financing to continue our marketing, research and development activities, on terms acceptable to CopyTele, if cash generated from operations is insufficient to satisfy our liquidity requirements; CopyTele's ability to commercialize a full-color video display; the possible development of competitive products that could render CopyTele's products obsolete or unmarketable; and other risks as detailed from time-to-time in CopyTele's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. CopyTele undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, unanticipated events, or otherwise.