UPDATE: VeriSign Names Bidzos As Interim CEO, Roper Resigns
Thursday July 3rd, 2008 / 20h14
(Adds comments from Bidzos, provides additional background throughout DOW JONES NEWSWIRES VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) named Jim Bidzos as interim executive chairman, president and chief executive, replacing William A. Roper, who resigned Monday. Since Roper was named CEO in May 2007, he had slimmed down the company and refocused on its core Internet-services businesses. "There is no change in strategy. The plan is in place and now it's all about execution" said Bidzos, in a conference call with analysts. VeriSign, which provides Internet-payment security services, also said it expects second-quarter revenue will meet or exceed current estimates by analysts. The mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters is $231 million, down 37% from a year earlier. Bidzos said Roper resigned from VeriSign voluntarily, but he declined to provide further details about the reasons for his departure. Bidzos, the company's founder and first CEO in 1995, added that it would take some time to find a permanent CEO but he sought to reassure analysts that he had the background to step into the role and quickly move forward. Roper put together a new management team to help him execute a new strategy, in which VeriSign would divest its low-margin, low-growth businesses that collectively represented around 40% of revenues in fiscal 2007. VeriSign's core businesses include operating the central database for the registration of all .com and .net domain name addresses, issuing certificates that encrypt online communications and authenticate the identities of Web site owners, and providing services that validate the identities of Web site users. Bidzos said the company expects to have sold most of its non-core businesses on schedule by the end this year. "We don't see any substantial change in the number of parties. The deals are moving slowly but they are on track," he said, adding that the valuations assigned to those business have remained stable despite a worsening economic environment. Bidzos also said he didn't expect additional management changes, despite that fact that many top executive were appointed by Roper. VeriSign will report second-quarter results Aug. 6. In the first quarter, the company swung to a loss on a write-down of the value of some assets and a restructuring charge. Revenue rose 7.9%, climbing 23% in the Internet services group, comprising VeriSign's core businesses, including Web site naming and security services. Bidzos has served as chairman or vice chairman of the board since April 1995. VeriSign's shares fell 1.3% to $36.25 in after-hours trading. They closed down 1.3% on Thursday. -By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5975; Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com -By Scott Morrison, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-6118; scott.morrison@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=YR4uBIqxai%2BnNiEwRngPJQ%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
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