SEC Company Response from WHERIFY WIRELESS INC (CIK 0001051902) — Jun 29, 2005
WHERIFY WIRELESS INC (CIK 0001051902)
Date: June 29, 2005 · CIK: 0001051902 · Accession: 0001144204-05-020158
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 333-124027
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June
28, 2005
Via Email
Securities and Exchange Commission
450 Fifth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20549
Attention: Stephen Krikorian, Branch Chief - Accounting
Re:
IQ Biometrix, Inc.
Registration Statement on Form S-4
File No. 333-124027
Dear Mr. Krikorian:
This
letter
responds to oral requests from you today regarding A) IQB valuation of
$40
million at the announcement of the merger with Wherify, B) Role of IQB’s
business in the combined company, and C) Value of intangible assets.
A. IQB
Valuation. Immediately prior to the announcement of the proposed merger
of
Wherify Wireless, Inc. (“Wherify”) and IQ Biometrix, Inc. (“IQB”), IQB’s market
capitalization was approximately $40 million. The Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “Commission”) has asked IQB to provide the Commission with any
documentation or information that was publicly available to the market
and upon
which the market may have relied for such valuation.
It is
important to note that IQB’s common stock is thinly traded on the
Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board. Furthermore, no market analyst currently
or
during the period prior to the announcement of the merger follows or reports
on
IQB. Historically, IQB’s common stock price has experienced and continues to
experience significant price fluctuations for reasons that are frequently
not
obvious to IQB. Notwithstanding the foregoing, below are factors that were
publicly available to the market at or prior to the announcement of the
merger.
1. Strong
Performers in Technology Sector: We believe that our share
price was
influenced by federal announcements which could have been perceived to
provide
positive opportunities for the IQB and for other companies providing
technologies relevant to law enforcement and domestic security.
For
example,
the Department of Homeland Security announced on Feb 2/04 that its FY 2005
budget would be $40.2 billion, representing an almost a 10% increase above
the FY 2004 budget. Further, a Mar 30/04 announcement from the
Department
confirmed that more than $3 billion was being awarded to state and local
governments to help first responders across the nation better protect their
communities.
We believe
that these announcements contributed to sizeable gains that were also
experienced by other identification solutions providers such as Identix
and
Viisage.
The
rising
tide impact of investor interest in this industry sector would have particular
significance for IQB given its Apr 12/04 news release announcing a major
purchase of IQB technology by the Department of Defence for training US
and
international miltary specialists.
2. Acquisition
Strategy. Beginning in late 2003, IQB, in its public filings, announced
that it
was actively seeking out acquisition and partnering prospects that would
complement its existing product offerings, augment its market coverage,
or
enhance its technological capabilities. On April 1, 2004, IQB reiterated
this
strategy in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB and in a Registration Statement
on Form SB-2. In addition, IQB reported an increased in spending for legal
and
investment banking services related to IQB’s execution of this strategy.
3. Improving
Revenue. In August 2003, IQB released FACES 4.0, the next generation of
its
biometric product. As a result, over the next year, IQB experienced significant
increase in revenues from the sale of its next generation product. In its
Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB filed April 1, 2004, IQB reported that
revenues
for the six months ended December 31, 2003 increased 181%.
B. Role
of IQB’s Business in Combined Company. The Commission has also asked whether
IQB’s Board had any discussions or whether any presentations had been made
to
the Board, at or around the announcement of the merger, regarding the role
of
IQB’s business after the completion of the merger.
In
evaluating whether to approve the merger, IQB’s Board considered a variety of
factors, including the strategic objectives of IQB and Wherify before and
after
giving effect to the Merger. At the time of the announcement of the merger,
both
IQB and Wherify believed that the contribution of Wherify’s business to the
combined company was substantially more than that of IQB. However, at that
time,
Wherify agreed that William Scigliano would become Chairman of the combined
company and that he would lead the government contracts division to pursue
opportunities for both Wherify and IQB in law enforcement and other governmental
agencies, including continued sales of the FACES software. In addition,
Mr.
Scigliano would also conduct with the new Board of Directors (post merger)
an
analysis of the FACES product and technology requirements. We believe the
FACES
software requires an infusion of substantial resources to update the existing
code which has been written over the past few years in an antiquated language.
However, in the months subsequent to the announcement of the merger, the
failure
to generate significant growth in FACES revenue or to resolve the challenges
of
ensuring ongoing development of the software has led management of both
companies to deliberate further on the question of whether the business
of IQB
should be continued by the merged company. The new Board of Directors will
use
this analysis to determine what to do with the with IQB’s FACES business.
C. Value
of
Intangible Assets. The Commission has asked what evaluation or valuation
was
undertaken by IQB with respect to its intangible assets prior to the merger
announcement, including whether IQB undertook any formal valuation of its
intangible assets.
Based
on the
correspondence from the SEC over the last few weeks regarding IQB’s business and
the proposed write off of the goodwill at the time of the merger, we have
re-evaluated our position and changed our proposed estimate of the goodwill
allocation that would be recorded at the completion of the merger.
The
purchase
price for the Form S-4/A discussion is the value of the IQB stock as of
the date
of the original merger announcement left with the IQB shareholders at the
conclusion of the merger. The purchase price actually recorded will be
the price
as of the closing date to be determined. At that time, any identifiable
intangible assets will be separately valued, with the remainder allocated
to
goodwill. We are proposing that the full calculated value ($40 million
at
announcement date) be recorded as goodwill and other intangible assets
in the
Form S-4/A pro forma schedules.
After
closing the merger, we will determine the allocation of the final purchase
price
to these intangible items.
We trust
that you will find the foregoing responsive to the comments of the Staff
Comments or questions regarding this letter or the Registration Statement
may be
directed to the undersigned or Don Reinke at 510.466.6899.
Sincerely,
/s/ William Scigliano
William Scigliano,
Chief Executive Officer
cc:
Don Reinke
Reed Smith, LLP