IONA Shareholders Vote in Favour of the Proposed Acquisition by Progress Software Corporation

  
    
  
  
    
      The Board of Directors of IONA Technologies PLC (NASDAQ: IONA) announces 
      that at meetings held today the Company’s 
      shareholders voted in favour of each of the resolutions necessary to 
      approve the Acquisition of the company by Progress Software Corporation 
      (NASDAQ: PRGS).
    
    
      The Board of IONA unanimously recommended and voted in favour of the 
      resolutions which were approved by shareholders at the meetings today.
    
    
      Progress Software has agreed to acquire IONA for $4.05 per share in 
      cash. This represents a total equity value of approximately $162 million 
      and approximately $106 million net of cash and marketable securities 
      reported on March 31, 2008. The offer price per share represents a 47.3 
      per cent premium over the Closing Price of $2.75 for an IONA ADR share 
      on 7 February 2008 (the last business day prior to the commencement of 
      the Offer Period on February 8, 2008). The offer price per share is also 
      a premium of approximately 16% over the average price for IONA shares 
      over the six months prior to the Offer Period.
    
    
      Following approval by IONA shareholders, the sanction of the Irish High 
      Court is required for the Acquisition to close. The hearing by the Irish 
      High Court of the petition to sanction the Acquisition is expected to 
      take place on Wednesday, September 10, 2008. IONA will make further 
      announcements regarding the outcome of the High Court hearing.
    
    
      Speaking on behalf of the IONA Board of Directors, Kevin Melia, Chairman 
      of IONA commented, “We are pleased with the 
      outcome of today’s meetings. Following a 
      thorough process to evaluate strategic alternatives for the business, 
      the Board considered the terms of the Acquisition to be in the best 
      interests of IONA shareholders and the company. We are pleased that 
      today, shareholders agreed with the Board’s 
      assessment.”
    
    
      He added, “Upon completion of the Acquisition, 
      Progress Software will inherit world-class technology that supports 
      highly complex applications in global mission critical environments, 
      together with a highly talented workforce that can be proud of the many 
      innovative accomplishments IONA has achieved since its inception as a 
      campus company in Dublin’s Trinity College. 
      The Board of IONA would like to wish the management of Progress Software 
      much success in integrating into its business the inherited assets of 
      IONA, its people and technology, for enhanced leadership within the 
      global Service Oriented Architecture software industry.”
    
    
      The result of the vote on the resolution considered at the IONA 
      shareholder meeting convened by the Irish High Court is as follows:
    
    
      
        Resolution
      
    
    
      To approve the Scheme.
    
    
      Approved
    
    
      The results of the vote on the resolutions considered at the 
      Extraordinary General Meeting are as follows:
    
    
      
        Resolution 1 – Ordinary Resolution
      
    
    
      To approve the Scheme and to authorise the directors of IONA to take 
      such action as they consider necessary or appropriate to carry the 
      Scheme into effect.
    
    
      Approved.
    
    
      
        Resolution 2 – Special Resolution
      
    
    
      To approve the cancellation of the Cancellation Shares.
    
    
      Approved.
    
    
      
        Resolution 3 – Special Resolution
      
    
    
      To authorise the directors of IONA to issue relevant securities pursuant 
      to Section 20 of the Companies (Amendment) Act 1983 and to apply the 
      reserve in the books arising upon the cancellation described above in 
      paying up in full at par New IONA Shares.
    
    
      Approved.
    
    
      
        Resolution 4 - Special Resolution
      
    
    
      Amendment to Articles
    
    
      Approved.
    
    
      
        Resolution 5 – Ordinary Resolution
      
    
    
      Adjournment of the EGM
    
    
      Approved.
    
    
      Upon completion of the Acquisition, which is expected to occur in 
      September, pending an order by the Irish High Court, IONA will become an 
      indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Software and will be 
      delisted from its public company listing on the Irish Stock Exchange and 
      its American Despositary Receipt listing on NASDAQ.
    
    
      About IONA
    
    
      For more than a decade, IONA® Technologies 
      PLC (NASDAQ: IONA) has been a world leader in delivering 
      high-performance integration solutions for Global 2000 IT environments. 
      IONA pioneered standards-based integration with its CORBA-based Orbix® 
      products. IONA's Artix™, an advanced SOA 
      infrastructure suite enables customers to leverage service-oriented 
      architecture to streamline and modernize IT environments. The FUSE™ 
      family of open source distributed SOA infrastructure products allows 
      customers to take advantage of the economic benefits associated with the 
      use of open source software.
    
    
      IONA is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with U.S. headquarters in 
      Waltham, Massachusetts and offices worldwide and has approximately 304 
      employees worldwide. For additional information about IONA, visit our 
      Web site at http://www.iona.com.
    
    
      Disclosure Required by the Irish Takeover Rules
    
    
      The directors of the Company accept responsibility for the information 
      contained in this letter. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the 
      directors of the Company (who have taken all reasonable care to ensure 
      such is the case), the information contained in this letter is in 
      accordance with the facts and does not omit anything likely to affect 
      the import of such information.
    
    
      Any person who is a holder of 1% or more of the share capital of the 
      Company may have disclosure obligations under Rule 8.3 of the Irish 
      Takeover Rules, effective from the date of the commencement of the offer 
      period in respect of the Acquisition.