[nfb-talk] Has Freedom Scientific Been Sold

[kaye zimpher]

I too share concerns  about an american being now run by a foreign 
government. We do not know how their governemnt views blind people and their 
capabilities.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cindy Handel" <cindy425 at verizon.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 5:21 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Has Freedom Scientific Been Sold


> There's been discussion on a JAWS email list I'm on.  People have said the
> news release is true.  But, that's all anyone seems to know.  They've said
> that there is no announcement on the FS site.
>
> Cindy
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "David Andrews" <dandrews at visi.com>
> To: <promotion-technology at nfbnet.org>; <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>;
> <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>; <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>; <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>;
> <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 4:49 PM
> Subject: [nfb-talk] Has Freedom Scientific Been Sold
>
>
> Earlier today a trusted friend sent me an e-mail stating that Freedom
> Scientific -- maker of JAWS for Windows, Magic, the Pac Mate, and
> other things, had been purchased by WAFRA Partners, but then the
> announcement was pulled from their web site.
>
> A Google search for Freedom Scientific WAFRA Partners turned up a
> couple hits including the following which appeared in the "Blind
> Confidential" blog today.  Who knows what is exactly going on...
>
> David Andrews
>
> Tuesday, May 15, 2007
> Why the Secrecy?
>
> In the past day, Blind Confidential has received a lot more
> information about the Freedom Scientific acquisition by New York
> based and Kuwaiti owned Wafra
> Investment Group. A lot of the new information also falls into the
> category of hearsay but one particular item, the google cached pages
> from the WAFRA
> containing an announcement of the acquisition seems to add a lot of
> credibility to the rumors.
>
> The following comes from the google cache of the WAFRA web page. The
> announcement, originally posted on April 25 has, without explanation,
> been removed
> from the web site:
>
> Wafra Partners Announces Acquisition of Freedom Scientific, Inc.
> April 25, 2007
>
> Wafra Partners LLC and Wafra Investment Advisory Group, Inc.* are
> pleased to announce the acquisition of Freedom Scientific, Inc.
>
> Freedom Scientific, Inc., based in St. Petersburg, FL, is the leading
> worldwide provider of assistive technology products for those who are
> low vision
> or blind. Assistive technology products make information, whether in
> electronic or print format, and computing accessible to those who are
> low vision or
> blind. The Company's software products include screen reading
> software, screen magnification software and scanning and reading
> software. Hardware products
> include handheld computers, Braille displays, scanning and reading
> machines, video magnifiers and Braille printers.
>
> Wafra Partners LLC is a private equity firm focused on middle market
> companies based in North America that have enterprise values between
> $20 and $150
> million. We are currently seeking acquisitions of companies in
> consumer products, outsourced business services, niche manufacturing,
> and consumer-driven
> services.
>
> * Wafra Investment Advisory Group, Inc. serves as investment advisor
> to the investments referred to herein. Wafra Partners LLC seeks
> companies within the
> parameters and sectors set out above.
>
> Blind Confidential has not contacted any FS employees as I do not
> want to jeopardize any of my old friends professional situations by
> asking them to provide
> information that FS asked them to keep secret. My sources, however,
> have contacted a number of people within FS. Freedom managers seem to
> be saying, "FS
> is a privately held company and ownership information or any
> acquisition details do not need to be disclosed." When asked about
> WAFRA, one FS manager is
> said to have replied, "I don't know anything about that."
>
> Communication with the FS rank and file has resulted in people
> telling BC sources, "we were brought into an 'All Hands' meeting and
> told that the company
> had been sold," but no Freedom personnel is saying to whom the
> company may have been sold and details like the selling price remain
> undisclosed. Some FS
> employees have grumbled that their stock options turned out to be
> worthless but no one seems to know the threshold above which the
> company had to sell
> in order for the employees to make some money on the deal.
>
> I have received a number of phone calls and emails from people
> worried about FS falling into the hands of a Middle Eastern
> government. I do not share these
> worries as I have witnessed the great work done by the Kuwaiti
> government in non-denominational altruistic pursuits around the world
> over they years. While
> not perfect, Kuwait is among the more free nations in the area and
> has been a terrific ally of the US over they years.
>
> So, why the secrecy? Why did WAFRA post the acquisition announcement
> only to pull it down a few days later? Did the deal fall through? If
> so, why haven't
> the employees been told?
>
> It's my opinion that secrecy tends to lead to the worst kind of
> paranoid, conspiracy ridden sort of conjecture that our community, an
> intensely closed
> circle of gossips, nutcases (include me in this group) and people
> with little more to do than guess what the maker of JAWS, the world's
> most important
> product used by blind people, is up to?
>
> All I can say is that I wish FS the greatest possible future no
> matter who owns the business but I must admit that my curiosity has
> been raised by the
> cloak and dagger intrigue surrounding the alleged sale of Freedom.
>
> -- End
>
> posted by BlindChristian at
> 8:09 AM
>
>
>
> David Andrews and white cane Harry.
>
>
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