America On Line, (AOL), announced this morning the completion of its acquisition of Israeli Internet company, Mirabilis, at a sum which may reach $407 million. The report on the impending deal was first reported in "Globes" three weeks ago.
AOL will pay $287 million in cash for full ownership rights of Mirabilis. It was also determined that AOL will pay an additional $120 million. The extra payment will be spread out over three years, up to the year 2001, and will be subject to Mirabilis’ growth performance, determined in the contract.
Mirabilis, founded less than two years ago, develops the ICQ communications program, which performs rapid messaging between Internet surfers.
Company CEO Sefi Vigiser estimated that the combination of power between the companies will enable Mirabilis to quickly launch its latest versions of the program. Vigiser also noted that the company’s founding group will continue to head the development of future generations of ICQ.
Mirabilis was founded in mid-1996 by four partners - Sefi Vigiser, 25, Yair Goldfinger, 26, Arik Vardi, 27 and Amnon Amir, 24, who did not stay to work in the company.
Vigiser. Vardi and Goldfinger each hold 21% company shares, with Dr Yossi Vardi, (Arik’s father), holding around the same rate, who was the company’s initial investor. Each of the four main shareholders will receive around $90 million.
A series of private investors, prominent, famous names in Israel, also rank among Mirabilis’ shareholders. The most prominent are Michael and Binjamin Jesselson, each holding shares valued at $7.5 million; Arison Holdings, which will receive $4.6 million; the Steimatzky family, which will receive $2.3 million and Manufacturers’ Association president Dan Propper, who will get $1.7 million.
Published by Israel's Business Arena June 8, 1998.