Digital River Announces Completion of Internal Review of Stock Option GrantsCompany to Record $9.4 Million Charge Spread Over Nine Year Period from 1998 to 2006 MINNEAPOLIS — February 6, 2007 - Digital River, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRIV), a global leader in e-commerce outsourcing, announced today the substantial completion of its internal investigation of the company’s historical stock option grant practices. The comprehensive investigation has been conducted by a Special Committee appointed by the company’s Board of Directors with the assistance of outside legal counsel and forensic accounting experts. As a result of the investigation, the company will record non-cash stock-based compensation expense and related tax effects in the aggregate amount of approximately $9.4 million, after tax, spread over the nine year period from 1998 through 2006. None of the expense relates to option grants to the current Board of Directors and executive officers. The investigation revealed no evidence that any officer or director of the company engaged in any wrongdoing for personal enrichment. The investigation also found that no director or member of the committee charged with awarding stock options to employees knowingly failed to comply with the relevant accounting principles. The Special Committee identified circumstances where documentation of certain grants was lacking. The Committee also determined that the company misapplied GAAP by using incorrect measurement dates for financial accounting and reporting purposes on a number of occasions. Approximately 99.7 percent of the expense related to grants made prior to December 31, 2002. The impact for the three most recent fiscal years is expected to be as follows:
The adjustments related to 2005 will be reflected via restatement in the company’s 2006 fourth quarter earnings release scheduled for February 8, 2007. Disclosure related to the investigation and the impact on prior fiscal years will be included in the company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2006, which is expected to be filed on a timely basis on or before March 1, 2007. Because of the foregoing stock-based compensation charges, the financial information and opinions of the company’s registered independent public accounting firms contained in previously filed reports for the years 2005 and prior should no longer be relied upon. The company continues to cooperate with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s informal inquiry related to this matter. About Digital River, Inc. Founded in 1994, Digital River is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices in major U.S. cities as well as Cologne, Germany; London, England; Shannon, Ireland; Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Japan. For more details about Digital River, visit the corporate Web site at www.digitalriver.com or call 952-253-1234. Forward-Looking Statements Digital River is a registered trademark of Digital River, Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks, registrations or copyrights of their respective owners. ### |
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