Back to press releasesNewark N.J., November 12, 2003 – IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT, IDT.C), a multinational carrier, telephone and technology company today announced it has been awarded more than $21-million in an arbitration against Telefonica Internacional, S.A., (Telefonica).
The arbitration award resolves claims brought by IDT Corporation against Telefonica and Telefonica’s counterclaims. IDT filed a claim against Telefonica for breach of an agreement in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in August of 1999. In essence, this agreement called for IDT to purchase 10% of a new company that would own and operate a submarine fiber optic network to be constructed by Telefonica around Latin America and for IDT to purchase at least a $100-million worth of capacity on that network over a five-year period. In addition, the parties were to establish a Joint Venture Company (“JVC”) that would use their respective corporate strengths to develop and jointly market products in “the Hispanic and such other markets as may be determined by the JVC in the United States and certain related markets in Latin America.”
In addition to the more than $21-million award to IDT, the arbitration panel ruled that all of Telefonica’s counterclaims against IDT were denied and dismissed.
IDT Corporation, through its IDT Telecom, Inc. subsidiary, is a facilities-based, multinational carrier that provides a broad range of telecommunications services to its retail and wholesale customers worldwide. IDT Telecom, by means of its own national telecommunications backbone and fiber optic network infrastructure, provides its customers with integrated and competitively priced international and domestic long distance telephony and prepaid calling cards. IDT and Liberty Media Corporation own 95% and 5% of IDT Telecom, respectively. Liberty Media Corporation also owns a 5.6% stake in IDT Media. IDT Media, Inc. is the IDT subsidiary principally responsible for the Company’s initiatives in media, new video technologies and print media. Winstar Holdings, LLC is the IDT subsidiary through which we provide broadband and telephony services to commercial and governmental customers through a fixed-wireless and fiber infrastructure. In December 2002, we announced that the services offered by Winstar would begin to be offered under the name “IDT Solutions.” Net2Phone, Inc., a subsidiary of IDT Corporation, is a leading provider of high-quality global retail Voice over IP services, either directly or via a partner.
IDT Corporation common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols IDT and IDT.C.
In this press release, all statements that are not purely about historical facts, including, but not limited to, those in which we use the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate, “target” and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these forward-looking statements represent our current judgment of what may happen in the future, actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these statements due to numerous important factors, including, but not limited to, those described in our most recent report on SEC Form 10-K (under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”), which may be revised or supplemented in subsequent reports on SEC Forms 10-Q and 8-K. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: potential declines in prices for our products and services; our ability to maintain and grow our retail telecommunications services, particularly our prepaid calling card business; availability of termination capacity; financial stability of our customers; our ability to maintain carrier agreements with foreign carriers; effectiveness of our marketing and distribution efforts; increased competition, particularly from regional bell operating companies; our ability to manage our growth; competitiveness of our Winstar subsidiary; impact of government regulation; our ability to obtain telecommunications products or services required for our products and services; and general economic conditions, particularly in the telecommunications markets. We are under no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update the forward-looking statements in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
