Hansen(R) Acquires Spear Technologies Inc.

Hansen Information Technologies logo. (PRNewsFoto/Hansen Information Technologies) RANCHO CORDOVA, CA UNITED STATES 01/19/2006

   Addition of Leading Provider of Public Transit & Rail Asset Management
       Solutions Extends Hansen's State & Local Government Footprint

    RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Hansen Information
Technologies (Hansen(R)) today announced the acquisition of San
Francisco-based Spear Technologies, Inc., the leading provider of asset
management solutions for the public transit and rail market.
    (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060119/SFTH072LOGO )
    Today, Spear solutions support the maintenance activities at four of
the ten largest public transit agencies in the United States, including New
York City Transit, Los Angeles County MTA, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, and
San Francisco Municipal Railway. The company's products also support the
maintenance activities at three of the five largest bus companies serving
central London.
    Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but acquisition financing
was provided by existing investors, led by San Francisco-based Golden Gate
Capital (http://www.goldengatecap.com), a $2.6 billion private equity fund.
    "The acquisition of Spear Technologies is consistent with our strategy
of building a suite of scalable Microsoft .NET business applications that
serve the government enterprise," said Chuck Hansen, Chairman and CEO of
Hansen. "Given the asset-intensive nature of government, with fixed assets
often representing over 70% of total assets, Spear enhances Hansen's
position as the de facto standard for the management and valuation of
public sector assets. The addition of Spear to our portfolio expands
Hansen's ability to integrate, streamline, and manage the design,
permitting, construction, operation, maintenance, rehabilitation, and
revenue cycle of public sector assets."
    Founded in 1997, Spear serves over 10,000 users worldwide and maintains
transportation and rolling stock assets that move over 11 million people
each day. Spear's ten largest U.S. public transit customers manage more
than 17,000 bus and rail vehicles. Key benefits of Spear's solutions
include increased asset utilization, enhanced workforce productivity,
improved safety, minimized inventory levels, improved warranty collections,
and increased return on assets.
    "We are delighted to team with a visionary company like Hansen that is
focused exclusively on delivering business solutions to the government
market," stated Mike Thomas, Founder & Chairman of Spear. "Teaming with
Hansen allows us to expand our presence in the mid-size public transit and
international rail markets."
    John Barbera, President & Chief Operating Officer of Spear added,
"Hansen and Spear customers will benefit by standardizing on a single
vendor that can deliver an end-to-end solution using a Microsoft .NET
platform. Hansen's integrated suite of web-based Asset Management, Building
Permit, CRM, Financials, GASB 34 Valuation, GIS, Transportation, and Web
Portal solutions, provide a nature extension to our public transit and rail
domain expertise."
    In the United States, selected Spear customers include: Amtrak, Capital
District Transit Authority, Charlotte Area Transit System, Dallas Area
Rapid Transit, Golden Gate Bridge Highway Transportation District, Hampton
Roads Transit, Hudson Bergen Light Rail, Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transit Authority, Kansas City Area Transportation, Authority, San Joaquin
Regional Transit District, New York City Transit, Pierce Transit, Riverside
Transit Authority, San Mateo County Transit, Port Authority Trans-Hudson,
San Francisco Municipal Railway, and Utah Transit Authority.
    Selected Spear international customers include: Arriva, Freightliner,
Go-Ahead Group, Metroline, and Romanian State Railways.
    "We are committed to protecting the significant investment in
technology made by Spear customers," said Mark Watts, President of Hansen.
"Customers of Spear will immediately gain access to our deep understanding
of Microsoft .NET solutions and history of delivering a steady stream of
customer-driven enhancements." Spear immediately becomes Hansen's new
Transit and Rail Business Unit, supporting its own dedicated global sales,
product management, project delivery, application development, and training
resources.
    Customers and prospects will get their first glimpse of the
Hansen-Spear product offering at the upcoming American Public Transit
Association (APTA) Conference, April 30 - May 3 in Anaheim, CA. Attendees
are encouraged to visit the Hansen/Spear Internet Cafe throughout the
conference.
    About Spear Technologies, Inc.
    Spear is the world's leading provider of public transit and rail asset
management systems. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, the company
focused on helping public sector customers maintain high-value rolling
stock and moving assets, such as busses, railway, aircraft, vessels, and
support fleets. In addition, the company is a leader in managing fixed and
linear assets, such as mining equipment, passenger terminals, airports, and
track. For more information, visit http://www.speartechnologies.com/.
    About Hansen Information Technologies
    Founded in 1983, Hansen(R) is the world's leading provider of
intelligent, adaptive, and pervasive solutions that help manage the
transactions of government. Headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California,
the company is a privately-held corporation employing over 300 people with
offices in Auckland, London, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, and Toronto. For
more information, visit http://www.hansen.com/.
    Contact:
    Juli Rose, Marketing Department
    916-921-0883, ext. 3511
    prnewswire@hansen.com