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Overland Acquires Optical Storage Robotics Technology; Platter-Based Design Holds Potential For New Range of Automated Storage Solutions

July 8, 1999
    Business Editors

    SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 8, 1999--Overland Data Inc. (NASDAQ NMS:OVRL), a technology leader in data storage and backup products, Thursday announced that it has purchased all of the assets related to a CD optical storage robotics technology from a major CD robotics automation company.

Included among the acquired assets are tooling, production equipment, parts, designs documentation, and software rights. Terms of the transaction and the identity of the seller were not disclosed.

Scott McClendon, Overland's president and chief executive officer, said: "The acquisition of this jukebox technology gives Overland the opportunity to leverage our existing investments in DLTtape(TM) automated library technology by acquiring a robotics technology that is geared for platter-based media, such as DVD. There are enough similarities in the base technologies to enable Overland to easily adapt its existing robotics manufacturing processes to build a new platter-based product line.

"This acquisition could speed Overland's entry into new markets," added McClendon. "Combined with previous announcements about the use of our VR2(TM) tape encoding technology on SLR(TM) tape drives from Tandberg Data (OSLO:TAD) and on Travan NS(TM) tape drives controlled by Imation Corp. (NYSE:IMN), this acquisition will enable Overland to expand its reach into other segments of the storage marketplace that we don't currently serve.

"Having access to both tape and optical robotics technologies also opens up some intriguing possibilities for next-generation integrated automated storage solutions from Overland."

About Overland

Overland is a global supplier of storage automation solutions and related technologies designed to meet and surpass the critical requirements of high-availability network computing environments, from entry level to the enterprise.

The company is a recognized leader in technology innovation for such achievements as the award-winning DLT(TM) LibraryXpress(tm) SmartScale Storage(TM) architecture that establishes new standards for intelligent automated storage and scalability, and the patented (no. 5,815,514) Variable Rate Randomizer (VR2) data encoding technology that can significantly increase the capacity and throughput of linear tape formats.

Overland has also earned a worldwide reputation for unmatched product quality and innovative warranty programs such as the Guaranteed Up Time Service (GUTS(TM)) Program that dramatically reduce the total cost of ownership. The company's award-winning products meet the critical needs of end users, distributors and OEMs in industries worldwide.

Except for the factual statements made herein, the information contained in this news release consists of forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Words and expressions reflecting optimism and satisfaction with current prospects, as well as words such as "believe," "intends," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," and variations thereof, identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and the company's actual results could differ materially from those contained in such statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include unexpected shortages of critical components, rescheduling or cancellation of customer orders, loss of a major customer, the timing and market acceptance of new product introductions by the company and its competitors, general competition and price pressures in the marketplace, and the company's ability to control costs and expenses. Reference is also made to other factors set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the "Risk Factors", "Management's Discussion and Analysis" and other sections of the company's Form 10-K for the most recently completed fiscal year. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release, and the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release.

Note to Editors: DLT and DLTtape are registered trademarks of Quantum Corp. worldwide. All others are trademarks or trade names of their respective owners.

    --30--jap/la* mk/la

    CONTACT: Overland Data Inc., San Diego
             858/571-5555
             http://www.overlanddata.com
             Steve Richardson (product information)
               srichardson@overlanddata.com
             Scott McClendon (investors)
               smcclendon@overlanddata.com
             Vernon LoForti (investors)
               vloforti@overlanddata.com
                   or
             JPR Communications
             Judy Smith, 818/386-0403
             jprcommun@aol.com
             http://www.jprcom.com

    KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
    INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED MERGERS/ACQ