CheckFree Acquires HelioGraph

CheckFree Corporation has completed the acquisition of HelioGraph. HelioGraph will be merged with CheckFree Financial and Compliance Solutions (CFACS), a business unit within CheckFrees Software Division.The acquisition of HelioGraph, a company with trailing twelve months revenue of approximately $8.0 million, reflects CheckFrees commitment to grow its software business and strengthens its international presence. CFACS recently announced the opening of a London office to directly market the CheckFree RECON-Plus Frontier solution internationally, and senior STP and financial services veterans have been recruited to support that strategy. The combined product suite will position CFACS to deliver a comprehensive, global enterprise Financial Transaction Management solution. HelioGraph provides a suite of financial messaging, transaction management, corporate actions, and trade status tracking solutions, all of which incorporate its SWIFTReady Gold-accredited core integration technology. The addition of these components to CheckFrees market-leading enterprise reconciliation and matching platform will enable companies to realize more streamlined and efficient international transaction settlements, centralized information and exception management as well as greater risk management capabilities across global operations. The technology leadership of CFACS and HelioGraph is confirmed by recent industry analyst reports. Celent Communications ranked RECON-Plus Frontier as the top reconciliation solution, and a series of CityCompass corporate actions benchmark tests by an independent user panel gave HelioGraphs solution its highest rating among vendors. CFACS and HelioGraph boast a combined customer list of nearly 600 top-tier global companies in the banking, securities, insurance and retail industries. Several of these companies have implemented CheckFree and HelioGraph solutions together, demonstrating both real-world business demand for the joint solution and compatibility of the software platforms. Terms of the Agreement CheckFree will purchase all of the outstanding shares of HelioGraph for $18.3 million in cash. For the quarter ended December 31, 2003, Heliograph is expected to contribute revenue of about $1.0 million to CheckFree, be dilutive to GAAP earnings of about $0.01 per share, and have a minimal impact on underlying earnings per share. For the full year, Heliograph is expected to have a minimal impact on GAAP and underlying earnings per share. HelioGraphs management team, base of 50 employees, and offices in London will remain with the Company.