News & Events

VeriSign Files Restatement of Financial Statements

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – July 12, 2007 – VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN) announced today that it has filed with the SEC its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 as well as its previously delayed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the second and third quarters of 2006.  These reports contain financial statements that were restated as a result of an independent review by an ad hoc group of independent Directors of VeriSign’s Board of Directors into VeriSign’s historical stock option grant practices and include adjustments to consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002.

In November 2006, the Company announced that its Board of Directors had determined the need to restate historical financial statements to record additional non-cash, stock-based compensation expense related to past stock option grants with incorrect measurement dates, without required documentation, or with initial grant dates and prices that were subsequently modified. At that time, the company estimated that the non-cash stock-based compensation charge for the years 2002 - 2005 would not exceed $250 million.

The total non-cash, stock-based compensation expense related to past stock option grants for the years 2002 -2005 was $160.3 million, after tax.

The Company also announced today that Chief Financial Officer, Dana Evan, resigned on July 10, 2007, and Bert Clement, former Senior Vice President, Finance and Controller, has been elected Chief Financial Officer. 

On January 31, 2007, the Company announced that the independent review was substantially completed, and did not find intentional wrong doing by any current member of VeriSign’s senior management, including former CEO, Stratton Sclavos, and former CFO, Dana Evan. 

Additional financial information for the full year 2006 periods is available on the Company’s investor relations website at http://investor.verisign.com.

VeriSign intends to file its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2007 as soon as practicable. 

About VeriSign  
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), operates digital infrastructure services that enable and protect billions of interactions every day across the world’s voice, video and data networks. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.com.

VRSNF

Contacts 
Media Relations: Lisa Malloy, emalloy@verisign.com, 202-270-7600 
Investor Relations: Nancy Fazioli, ir@verisign.com, 650-426-5146

Trademarks 
VeriSign and other trademarks, service marks and logos are registered or unregistered marks of VeriSign, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and in foreign countries.

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Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign’s actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the fact that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) inquiry relating to the Company’s stock option accounting is ongoing, that the SEC inquiry may require further adjustments to the Company’s financial statements and that VeriSign cannot predict with certainty when it may be able to file any future SEC reports, including its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2007;  uncertainty that the Nasdaq Listing and Hearings Review Council will grant a favorable decision regarding a possible delisting of the Company’s common stock, and, if an unfavorable decision is rendered, VeriSign’s common stock will no longer continue to remain listed on the Nasdaq Global Market; the risk that the matters described in this press release could divert management’s attention from operations; and the fact that expenses arising from the independent review and SEC inquiry, the restatement, related litigation and other associated activities are expected to be significant.

More information about potential factors that could affect the Company’s business and financial results is included in VeriSign’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.