Baltimore sells SelectAccess to HP

Baltimore Technologies has announced it has entered a conditional agreement with HP to sell its SelectAccess business for a total consideration of £8.3m (€12.05m) in cash.

The sale is subject to approval by Baltimore's shareholders at an EGM.

Baltimore announced at its AGM on May 22 2003 that it was starting a controlled sale process to select a strategic partner for the whole of the business.

It now says that whilst this process is still ongoing, the board has decided that the disposal of SelectAccess to HP represents value to shareholders and will help maximise the overall return for shareholders.

Subject to the announced agreement with HP, Baltimore is still in discussions regarding offers for the whole of the company, as well as several offers regarding specific parts of the company.

Bijan Khezri, Chief Executive Officer of Baltimore Technologies plc, commented on the sale of SelectAccess: "This transaction represents an exceptional opportunity for our shareholders and is a key step towards maximising shareholder value.

"We are particularly pleased to see HP taking the SelectAccess product forward as we believe they are well positioned to exploit the technology's potential.

"It will reinforce HP's ability to offer superior infrastructure security for the benefit of customers and employees. We remain committed to achieving the best possible outcome for all our stakeholders regarding the remaining parts of our business."