ATG to Acquire Primus Knowledge Solutions, Inc.

August 13, 2004 - (HostReview.com) - ATG (www.atg.com) the software provider behind the Web's richest customer experiences and Primus Knowledge Solutions, Inc. (www.primus.com), an award-winning customer service software provider, today announced a definitive agreement for ATG to acquire Primus.

"Companies want to market to, sell to and service their customers through a variety of channels and provide the most seamless, integrated experience for these customers," said Bob Burke, president and CEO of ATG. "Combining Primus' products and technical expertise with ATG creates an e-business powerhouse, with the breadth of technology and the critical mass that greatly enhances our ability to provide complete customer experience solutions across all channels."

Under the terms of the all stock deal, the transaction is valued at approximately $30 million to $33 million, based upon ATG's closing stock price as of August 9, 2004. For the 12 month period ended June 30, 2004, the two companies had combined revenue of more than $90 million. Cost synergies between the two companies are expected to result in between $10 million and $15 million in annual savings beginning in 2005. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2004 and be accretive to ATG's forecasted results for the full year 2005.

ATG's industry-leading software for online commerce and marketing combined with Primus' award-winning customer service software solutions will create one of the industry's largest online commerce and service software companies. The combination will produce the most complete consumer-facing platform to work seamlessly through Web, email, call center, and other channels.

"The combination of ATG's commerce and marketing solutions with Primus' award-winning customer service and support technologies is a powerful and natural fit," said Michael Brochu, chairman, president and CEO of Primus.

The acquisition creates a number of synergies on both the top and bottom line. The opportunity to sell integrated commerce and service solutions into each company's respective customer base provides ATG with significant revenue growth potential.

In conjunction with this news release, ATG and Primus management will host a conference call for investors at 9:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, August 11, 2004. The call will be broadcast live over the Internet. Investors interested in listening to the Webcast should log onto the "Investors" section of the ATG Web site, located at, at least 15 minutes prior to the event's broadcast.