Softbank Invests $20m in Cognotec

Leading E-Commerce Company Softbank Makes Strategic Investment In Internet-Based Dealing Service Provider Cognotec

Leading Japanese Internet company Softbank Corp has made a US dollars 20 million strategic investment to gain 10 per cent interest in leading e-commerce solutions provider Cognotec. Softbank is the largest shareholder in Yahoo! and E*Trade. Its decision to invest in Cognotec is powerful endorsement of Softbank's belief that Cognotec's Internet technology-based trading service, AutoDeal LITE, is the trading model of the future for the global foreign exchange market.

More than twenty banks have already made the decision to use the Cognotec AutoDeal LITE service, which was recently launched, to enhance their E-commerce trading abilities. Softbank is already a partner with Cognotec in FOREXBANK, a joint venture launched earlier this year, which distributes Cognotec's internet trading service to Japanese and Korean banks and other financial institutions.

The investment by Softbank comes in the wake of a significant investment by Warburg, Pincus & Co, the leading global investor in technology companies, in 1998.

Brian Maccaba, Chairman of Cognotec said: "Softbank recognises that Cognotec has always been at the leading edge of automated trading technology. The Cognotec AutoDeal LITE service has consolidated our position as innovators by leveraging the power of the Internet. Softbank's investment guarantees that the rapid expansion Cognotec has enjoyed will continue well into the next millennium."

He continued: "Softbank's investment represents a milestone in Cognotec's development as a leading company in the business to business E-commerce space. Further, Softbank's unparalleled expertise in the E-commerce industry is a welcome enhancement to our skills base."

Yoshitaka Kitao, Executive Vice President and CFO of Softbank Corporation and President and CEO of Softbank Finance Corporation said: "This strategic investment represents the continuation of Softbank's policy of partnering the very best Internet technology and E-commerce solutions providers. It is our belief that Cognotec's vision of an E-commerce-enabled global foreign exchange industry will become the dominant model in the provision of automated trading technology. We are proud to be a part of that process"

Cognotec was recently named "Best Automated Dealing Software" provider by the global readership of FX Week for the second year running. It won this accolade by a high margin of votes.

The Cognotec AutoDeal LITE service allows banks to offer their own, branded foreign exchange and money market trading system to branches and corporate clients. With virtually zero implementation, and fees charged on a per transaction basis, AutoDeal LITE is a virtually risk-free route for banks to harness a low-cost Internet-based dealing application.

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