From PIERRE@division.demon.co.uk Mon Nov 28 04:01:10 1994 Return-Path: Received: from mx5.u.washington.edu by stein2.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.10/UW-NDC Revision: 2.32 ) id AA02127; Mon, 28 Nov 94 04:01:10 -0800 Received: from post.demon.co.uk by mx5.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.10/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA18872; Mon, 28 Nov 94 04:01:06 -0800 Received: from division.demon.co.uk by post.demon.co.uk id aa23147; 28 Nov 94 11:59 GMT Received: from charon.division.demon.co.uk by division.demon.co.uk (AIX 3.2/UCB 5.64/4.03) id AA13217; Mon, 28 Nov 1994 11:36:33 GMT Received: From GEORGE/WORKQUEUE by charon.division.demon.co.uk via Charon-4.0-VROOM with IPX id 100.941128111015.384; 28 Nov 94 11:08:21 +500 Message-Id: From: Pierre duPont Organization: Division Limited To: ukvrsig@mailbase.ac.uk, diderot@hitl.washington.edu, pcmike@aol.com, avatarp@well.sf.ca.us, scivw@u.washington.edu, scivwa@media.mit.edu, PCVR@fullfeed.com, sgerencser@delphi.com, 100071.116@compuserve.com, stearman@world.std.com, kaugust@caip.rutgers.edu, san@well.sf.ca.us Date: Mon, 28 Nov 1994 11:10:06 Subject: PRESS INFORMATION: Division Raises Additional Finance Reply-To: schiffd@division.com, dupontp@division.demon.co.uk X-Mailer: Pegasus Mail/Windows (v1.11a) Priority: A Status: OR Title: Division Group plc raises GBP 10 million through Rights Issue Bristol, UK - 24 November, 1994 -- Division has today announced that it proposes to raise approximately GBP 10 million (US$15m), net of expenses, by way of a Rights Issue to qualifying shareholders. The Rights Issue has been fully underwritten by Albert E. Sharp & Co. Division has announced an estimate (unaudited) of its results for the year ended 31 October 1994. Revenue for the year increased 154% to GBP 5.2m ($8.1m), with a loss of stlg1.4m ($2.2m). The loss has been attributed to heavy investment in sales and marketing, and new product development. Since Division's flotation in May 1993, the company has increased its staff from 23 to more than 70 employees, and sales have grown rapidly. During this period, Division has greatly strengthened its world-wide presence and now has three offices in the USA, as well as its headquarters in Bristol, UK, and distributors throughout Europe and Asia Pacific. Division's current activities focus on software and hardware products for virtual reality (VR), and on delivering fully-immersive VR systems. The company's dVISE Virtual Design Environment(tm) software makes VR easily available for users of traditional CAD packages, while the dVS VR development toolkit provides an environment for those wishing to develop advanced VR applications. The company also produces the ProVision range of VR accelerators, which includes the ProVision 10, a VR accelerator for Hewlett-Packard series 700 workstations. The ProVision range uses Division's own proprietary 3D graphics accelerator, called the VPX, which is based on Pixel-Planes(tm) technology licensed from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Division is a Value Added Reseller (VAR) for both Silicon Graphics and Hewlett-Packard and sells complete integrated systems based on these platforms. Over the past few months, Division has achieved a number of new application milestones within the virtual reality industry. Major VR applications based on Division's products at companies such as Daimler-Benz, GDE Systems, Gulfstream, and McDonnell Douglas have further strengthened Division's lead in the industry world-wide, and again confirmed the growing value of immersive VR for industrial and training markets. The market for Virtual Reality has continued to expand rapidly, and Division is faced with a number of opportunities for continued growth in this exciting market. The capital raised through this rights issue will enable Division to fund anticipated future growth and to maintain technical leadership through new product development. In July 1994, Division and Hewlett-Packard announced a strategic alliance to exploit mutual interests in virtual reality and 3D graphics. In particular, both companies are focused on the application of VR in the engineering, training, and medical sectors. Under this alliance, Division has ported its dVISE and dVS products to the HP platform and created the ProVision 10 virtual reality accelerator for Hewlett-Packard workstations. Division has also become a world-wide VAR of HP systems for applications in VR, and is HP's preferred supplier of VR solutions. A variety of joint marketing programmes are now under way, and the first products under this alliance shipped at the end of October, 1994. Over the past eighteen months, Division has worked closely with Silicon Graphics, and has successfully completed a number of major virtual reality installations based on the dVISE and dVS products running on Silicon Graphics RealityEngine2(tm) workstations. Division closely integrates its software with advanced head-mounted displays and 3D tracking technology to deliver a complete VR solution to its customers. Division has focused on the use of the Onyx RealityEngine2 to deliver the very highest quality visual realism, and has successfully delivered complete solutions to Daimler-Benz, GDE Systems, Hughes Training, Matsushita and the US Army, among others. Division has also announced that it is developing a range of advanced graphics products based on PixelFlow(tm) technology licensed from UNC. PixelFlow is a natural evolution of the massively-parallel Pixel-Planes architecture now in use in Division's ProVision systems. Division is working closely with Hewlett-Packard on the development of these future products, and Hewlett-Packard has acquired an option to resell these products under its own label. The Division Group of companies specializes in providing virtual reality technology, products, and services for professional virtual reality applications. Headquartered in Bristol, England, Division has US offices in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Redwood City, California, and San Diego, California, and distributors in other major regions. The company has sold integrated virtual reality systems and services to a world-wide customer base of professional users that includes British Telecommunications plc, the US DoD, the UK DRA, GDE Systems, Glaxo, GEC, Hughes Training, Nynex, McDonnell Douglas, and Matsushita. Division Group plc shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange. ============================================================= email: dupontp@division.demon.co.uk Pierre duPont phone: +44 454 615554 Marketing Director fax: +44 454 615532 Division Limited 19 Apex Court, Woodlands, Almondsbury, Bristol BS12 4JT UK