Thanks, Bob. I’d also like to provide a few notes from my background and why I have agreed to join Lexington at this very exciting time. In many ways, leading Lexington is a perfect opportunity to leverage the 2 phases of my career: leading technology startups and monetizing IP.
Over the last 2 decades, I have realized over $160 million in returns on just $12 million in patent investments. Most recently, I was CEO of Turtle Bay Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Juridica Capital.
In 2012, I was behind 2 successful patent verdicts, Shelbyzyme’s $50 million verdict against Genzyme and a $20 million willful infringement verdict against Citrix Systems Inc.
Previously, I managed a venture capital group within the Fortune 500 company SPX Corporation, where, among other investments, I managed the patent infringement litigation against Microsoft that resulted in a $62.3 million verdict and ultimately settled for $60 million.
During the 1990s, I managed a number of technology startup and fast-growth companies. I’ve helped UUNET Technologies, which is now Verizon to go public, and was instrumental in a highly successful product development for the company.
I also took a division of Concentric Network, which is now XO Communications from scratch to a 90-employee, a $150 million run rate in 18 months, ultimately taking that company public as well. I’m a strong believer in the Lexington’s DSS strategy of combining patent monetization with an operating company.
This model provides unusual stability in the patent monetization space, and the opportunity to provide a steady revenue while pursuing strategic patent extortion with a significant upside potential.
The high-quality of the Bascom portfolio as Lexington’s first investment was also a significant factor in my decision to take on an expanded role at the company. I’ve been monetizing patents for more than 10 years and I’ve had a lot of success. In fact, I’ve never had a losing investment. I expect this portfolio to be every bit as successful as any of the others I’ve managed.
Both Lexington and DSS have high-quality intellectual property in vibrant and expanding markets, including social media, RFID technology and cloud computing. I look forward to working with the DSS team to help them become a successful product and service company as well as pursuing an IT management strategy that takes full advantage of the combining companies' robust portfolio.
It’s also worth noting that with my appointment, Lexington will be headquartered in McLean, Virginia, where our subsidiary, Bascom Research, is already based, and the venue for our key litigation against Facebook, LinkedIn and 3 other companies.
After the completion of the DSS merger, Lexington Technology Group will become the company’s Virginia-based intellectual property division.
With that I will pass the call back to Robert.