Thin Client

Garnett & Helfrich Capital purchased a controlling stake in Wyse from the Koos Group located in Taiwan, who will retain an ownership position in the company. Garnett & Helfrich Capital and the Koos Group will work together to bolster Wyse's software business and support the company's movement into underserved Asian markets.

This acquisition represents Garnett & Helfrich Capital's first venture buyout transaction since the firm's inception, an approach that employs the entrepreneurial background and operational experience of its founders, Terry Garnett and David Helfrich, to reposition portfolio companies for substantial growth based on new management, product and market strategies.

"In line with our venture buyout approach, we look forward to playing an active role in shaping Wyse's corporate and product strategy," said David Helfrich, managing director, Garnett & Helfrich Capital. "With 35 percent market share in the fastest growing segment of the PC market, an impressive roster of customers that includes FedEx, Best Buy Canada, Circuit City and Quaker Foods, and longstanding partnerships with Citrix, Microsoft and Dell, Wyse is well-positioned to expand its global leadership."

Wyse Technology, founded in 1981, introduced the industry's first Windows-based terminal in 1995. Today, Wyse counts over 40 percent of the Fortune 100 as customers and is the worldwide leader in thin-clients with 35 percent market share according to analyst firm IDC.

"The enterprise market is moving to a centralized blade server model with secure, easy-to-maintain thin-client desktops and Wyse is the leader in delivering this solution," said Terry Garnett, managing director, Garnett & Helfrich Capital. "This will develop into a multi-billion dollar market over the next three to five years and Wyse is poised to capture a large share of this fast growing segment."

John Kish, previously a CEO-in-residence at Garnett & Helfrich Capital has assumed the CEO position at Wyse Technology and has recruited a world-class team of executives to join him at the Company. Kish is credited with establishing Oracle's Desktop Division and growing the division to $400 million in revenue during his 8 year career at the Company. John was one of the leading spokespeople in the industry for thin-client computing during the 1990s in his role at Oracle.

A team of attorneys from O'Melveny & Myers LLP, led by David Makarechian represented Garnett & Helfrich Capital on the transaction.

About Garnett & Helfrich Capital

Garnett & Helfrich Capital is the first fund to focus exclusively on the emerging venture buyout segment for mid-sized technology spinouts. Formed in March 2004 with $250,250,000 in capital from Harvard, Stanford, Grove Street and Harbourvest, the firm will invest in spinout partnerships with large global technology companies in the enterprise software, communications and networking, semiconductors, and Internet content/infrastructure segments of the technology industry. The principals, Terry Garnett and David Helfrich, have over 30 years of collective operating experience in senior roles at Oracle, Ascend Communications, 3COM, Tandem and Newbridge Networks as well as 15 years of venture capital investment experience at Venrock and ComVentures prior to founding Garnett Helfrich Capital. Their prior venture capital investments have included Checkpoint Software, Siebel, Niku, CoSine and P-Cube. More information is available at www.garnetthelfrich.com.

About Koos Group

As far back as the 1950s, Koos Group has been an integral part of Taiwan's economy, apparent at every stage of its development. To date, the Group is involved in a vast range of industries, some of which include petro-chemicals, electronics, cement, manufacturing, financial services and banking. In all, Koos Group encompasses over 80 companies, with more than 20,000 employees worldwide. Total assets of the Group amount to over $25 billion. It has financial interest in more publicly-traded companies than any other single business concern, and has by far the most expansive global reach among its competitors.

About Wyse Technology

Wyse is the #1 vendor that the world's largest businesses and institutions trust for scalable network-centric computing solutions. Wyse provides the hardware, software, and services that shift computing complexity to the network, liberating IT departments from unnecessary support and maintenance functions, empowering users to be more productive in their jobs, and protecting and improving access to critical information and business applications. Headquartered in San Jose, California with offices worldwide, Wyse has been #1 in thin-client market share for the last seven years, and has been named Microsoft "Embedded Partner of the Year" for three years. Wyse customers include FedEx, Best Buy (Canada), Quaker Foods, Gold's Gym, and CON-WAY Transportation.

Source: Garnett & Helfrich Capital