Ixchange subsidiary to buy back shares for $19m

Johannesburg, 24 Apr 2001

Ixchange`s US subsidiary, FrontRange Solutions, is to buy back a total of about 9.5 million shares from certain minorities at $2 per share.

The buyback allows Ixchange to increase its stake in FrontRange to an effective 85%.

FrontRange bought GoldMine Software Corporation in terms of an agreement on 4 May 1999.

The agreement stipulated that certain GoldMine vendors had the right to require either Ixchange or FrontRange to purchase their FrontRange shares at a negotiated price should FrontRange not complete an initial public offering on or before 31 December last year.

That option was exercised by the GoldMine vendors, and FrontRange has agreed to repurchase about 8.8 million shares from The Susser Management Trust, the Ferrara Living Trust, Michael Carter, Diana Carter and Stephen Kidwell.

It will also buy back 717 562 shares subject to certain stock options held by original employees of GoldMine, which are also subject to the put option.

A total of 9 531 405 shares are to be repurchased.

"The buy back price is $2 per share," Ixchange says. "As a requirement of the GoldMine vendors a higher consideration will become payable should there be a sale of FrontRange shares to any third-party in excess of $2 per share prior to 1 November 2001, in which case the third-party will purchase the GoldMine vendors` shares directly at the same price paid to Ixchange.

"To this extent it is not currently anticipated that Ixchange or FrontRange will enter into such a transaction."

Had the buyback been entered into on 1 July, Ixchange`s headline loss per share would have increased from 66.46c to 80.39c for the six months to 31 December 2000. Its net tangible asset value per share would have been 314.95c instead of the reported 349.92c.

The company says the $2 repurchase price is at a value equal to the current investment cost per share of Ixchange in FrontRange.