vSpring Capital Applauds $416 Million Sale of Portfolio Company LANDesk to Avocent

vSpring Capital and its partners today applauded the announced $416 million acquisition of its portfolio company, LANDesk, by Avocent Corporation (Nasdaq: AVCT).

The acquisition agreement, which is expected to close within 60 to 75 days, provides for total consideration of $416 million, including $200 million in stock, $200 million in cash and $16 million in assumed options. The transaction value may also be increased by up to $60 million if LANDesk meets certain financial targets specified in the agreement. In addition to vSpring Capital, other strategic investors in LANDesk include Vector Capital, Intel Capital and Blueprint Ventures.

LANDesk, whose North American headquarters are in Salt Lake City, became a standalone, privately held company when vSpring partner, Ed Ekstrom, identified the opportunity to spin it out from Intel in October 2001 and found other investors to help capitalize the deal.

"Ed Ekstrom and the vSpring team identified the original opportunity to spin LANDesk out of Intel in 2001," said Joe Wang, president and chief executive officer of LANDesk. "Without vSpring's initial effort and its ongoing support and dedication throughout all stages of this process, including our sale to Avocent, we would not have achieved this success."

LANDesk is a recognized leader in software for the centralized management and protection of information technology assets. With its focus principally in the enterprise desktop administration market (and with approximately 500 employees spread across the Americas, Europe and Asia), LANDesk has emerged as a recognized leader in the centralized management and protection of enterprise information-technology assets due to its growth during the past three and a half years. Since its formation, LANDesk has grown its revenue at an average rate of 25 percent and has been cash flow positive every year.

LANDesk and Avocent plan to reinvent IT management via the creation of next-generation, "always-on" management solutions that give information-technology managers unmatched control of all hardware and software assets throughout their organizations.

"We are thrilled that Avocent is joining Utah as a corporate citizen," said Ed Ekstrom, vSpring Capital managing director. "Having worked with Avocent throughout this transaction, we believe they have an incredibly talented management team and are a great company and believe they will be an asset to the Utah economy for many years to come.

"The LANDesk team has worked tirelessly to achieve success in the market place, and we feel this is a fitting reward for their effort. The deal also demonstrates vSpring's ability to identify great high-technology investment opportunities in the Mountain West region and to work with other world-class investors to take advantage of those opportunities."

About Avocent Corporation

Avocent Corporation is the leading supplier of connectivity solutions for enterprise data centers, branch offices and small to medium sized businesses worldwide. Branded and OEM products include remote and local access solutions for switching, serial console, power, extension, intelligent platform management interface (IPMI), mobile, and video display management solutions. Additional information is available at http://www.avocent.com. Avocent was advised regarding the acquisition transaction by Morgan Stanley.

About LANDesk Software

LANDesk is a leading provider of systems, security and process management solutions for desktops, servers and mobile devices across the enterprise. LANDesk enables thousands of organizations to easily deploy and use end-to-end management solutions. LANDesk is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, with offices located in the Americas, Europe and Asia, and can be found on the Web at http://www.landesk.com/, or by calling 1-800-982-2130. On the acquisition transaction, LANDesk was advised by UBS Investment Bank.

About vSpring Capital

vSpring Capital (http://www.vspring.com) is a traditional early-stage venture capital firm with more than $200M of capital under management. vSpring invests in information technology and life sciences companies in the Mountain West region. vSpring looks for companies with the potential to transform their markets and create lasting value. The firm's primary areas of focus include enterprise software, networking and communications, security software, Internet, mobile computing, drug discovery, drug delivery, diagnostics, and medical devices, all markets where the firm has deep experience. vSpring Capital's previous investments have included Altiris, MyFamily.com, comScore Networks and Salus Therapeutics, among others.

Contacts for vSpring Capital:

David Politis, Politis Communications, 801-523-3730(w)/801-556-8184(c), dpolitis@politis.com or

Russell Page, Politis Communications, 801-523-3730(w)/801-787-8435(c), rpage@politis.com

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