corresp
DIGI INTERNATIONAL INC.
11001 Bren Road East
Minnetonka, MN 55343
September 22, 2006
Via EDGAR and Federal Express
Securities and Exchange Commission
Attention: Marc D. Thomas
Division of Corporation Finance
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549-5553
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Re:
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Digi International |
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Form 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2005 |
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Form 10-Q for Fiscal Quarter Ended June 30, 2006 |
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Forms 8-K filed during fiscal 2006 |
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File No. 0-17972 |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
On behalf of Digi International Inc. (the Company), I am responding to the letter dated
September 8, 2006, of Brad Skinner of the Division of Corporation Finance to Joseph Dunsmore,
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, with respect to comments on the
above-referenced filings.
For ease of reference, I have included the SEC staffs comments, followed by the Companys
response.
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2005
Managements Discussion and Analysis, pages 20
Operating Expenses, page 29
1. |
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Your response to prior comment number 1 from our letter dated June 13, 2006 indicates that
your past acquisitions were principally made to extend your portfolio of hardware solutions.
Separately, disclosure within Note 4 to your audited financial statements indicates that you
have capitalized amounts as purchased and core technology. Describe for us the nature of the
purchased and core technology acquired and how this technology is utilized within your
hardware product sales. Explain your basis for
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Securities and Exchange Commission
September 22, 2006
Page 2
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concluding that the amortization related to this technology does not represent a cost of
revenue. |
Digi has recorded purchased and core technology as intangible assets related to all of its past
acquisitions, including Inside Out Networks, NetSilicon, FS Forth, and Rabbit. The purchased and
core technology intangible assets represent the value of the technological basis for the currently
developed hardware products that these companies were selling at the time of acquisition.
We have historically presented all acquired intangible amortization expense as a general and
administrative expense based on SAB Topic 11-B which allows depreciation and depletion to be
presented outside of cost of sales and provides guidance on disclosure if companies use that
alternative. In addition, management believes that our cost of sales and gross profit excluding
amortization of certain intangible assets provides a meaningful presentation given that intangible
assets amortization does not have a current or future effect on the use of cash. It is our
understanding that our investors and analysts believe this also. The presentation of amortization
of intangible assets related to acquired technology outside of cost of sales is consistent with
many of our competitors and many other registrants in our general industry. However, in
consideration of the Staffs comment, we will begin recording the amortization of purchased and
core technology as a separate line item before gross profit.
Pursuant to our recent MaxStream acquisition, Digi intends to file a Form S-3 Registration
Statement, to register re-sales of the shares of our common stock by the selling stockholders.
Digis contractual commitment is to file the S-3 on October 2, 2006, or as soon as practicable
thereafter, but in any case by October 15, 2006. Due to the change to one segment effective in
fiscal 2006, Digi will file a Form 8-K prior to filing the Form S-3 which will include the
financial statements and associated MD&A from its Form 10-K for 2005, reclassifying all periods
presented on the basis of one segment. As a result of our conclusion to present the amortization
of intangible assets related to acquired technology as a component of cost of sales, we will also
reclassify our prior year Consolidated Statements of Operations included in the Form 8-K (i.e.,
2005, 2004 and 2003) to conform the presentation. The following excerpt of our Consolidated
Statements of Operations included in the Form 10-K for 2005 illustrates our proposed presentation
of the amortization of purchased and core technology:
Securities and Exchange Commission
September 22, 2006
Page 3
Digi International Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per common share data)
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For the fiscal year ended September 30, |
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2005 |
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2004 |
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2003 |
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Net sales |
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125,198 |
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$ |
111,226 |
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$ |
102,926 |
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Cost of sales (exclusive of amortization of purchased
and core technology shown separately below) |
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49,516 |
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43,443 |
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41,580 |
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Amortization of purchased and core technology |
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4,357 |
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4,480 |
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5,622 |
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Gross profit |
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71,325 |
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63,303 |
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55,724 |
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures, page 22
2. |
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We note your response to prior comment number 2 from our letter dated June 13, 2006. As
indicated in our prior comment, it is not appropriate to describe an item as non-recurring,
infrequent or unusual when the nature of the charge or gain is such that it is reasonably
likely to recur within two years or there was a similar charge or gain within the prior two
years. We note that there have been items that materially impacted your income tax expense and
effective tax rate in 2003, 2005 and 2006. Additionally, the nature of income taxes and the
related accounting appears to be such that is reasonably likely that similar charges or gains
will recur within two years. In view of these considerations, we do not agree with your
conclusion that it is appropriate to describe the tax-related items identified in your
non-GAAP measures as being unusual. |
As explained in our previous response to this comment from your June 13, 2006 letter, there were
items that occurred in 2003 and 2005 that materially impacted our income tax expense and effective
tax rates for those years that we believe met the criteria included in Item 10(e)(ii)(B) of
Regulation S-K for items that are non-recurring, infrequent or unusual in nature as they had not
occurred in the previous two years and we continue to believe they will not recur in the following
two years.
In 2006, there were also items that impacted our effective tax rate, but we did not consider these
items to be non-recurring, infrequent or unusual and consequently these items were not described as
non-GAAP measures (see also our response to Comment 5).
We appropriately disclosed in our MD&A the discussion of both the reversal of the valuation
allowance in 2003 associated with the German net operating loss carryfowards and the favorable tax
settlement in 2005 and believe that due to the unusual nature of these items it was beneficial to
our financial statement readers to provide the additional non-GAAP disclosures to enhance
understanding and to provide transparency of disclosure. There was a material favorable impact to
earnings per share as a result of both of the aforementioned tax events and we believe it was
important to an understanding of our companys financial performance to present this non-
Securities and Exchange Commission
September 22, 2006
Page 4
GAAP information, and that it met the requirements of Regulation S-K Item 10(e) for SEC-filed
documents, as well as Regulation G. Nevertheless, to resolve the Staffs comment, we agree that we
will not present these two tax-related items as non-GAAP measures in future filings with the SEC.
We will, however, continue to provide a discussion in MD&A to enhance our financial statement
readers understanding of our tax-related items. We also agree that any public presentation of
these non-GAAP financial measures in other than SEC-filed documents will conform to Regulation G.
3. |
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We have considered your response to prior comment number 3 from our letter dated
June 13, 2006, as well as the existing disclosure in your 10-K. Since your non-GAAP measures
performance measures that exclude recurring items, you must meet the burden of demonstrating
the usefulness of the measures. As currently presented, the disclosure accompanying your
measures does not appear to meet this burden. In this regard, we note the following: |
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Although you indicate you use the measures to monitor and evaluate ongoing operating
results and trends and to gain an understanding of the comparative operating
performance of the company, you do not provide any substantive disclosure explaining
how the measures help you monitor, evaluate or understand your company. |
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You do not appear to provide any substantive disclosure that describes the economic
substance behind your decision to use the measures. |
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You do not appear to provide any substantive discussion of the material limitations
associated with the use of the non-GAAP measures as compared to the use of the most
directly comparable GAAP measure. In this regard, note that cautionary language
informing readers that your non-GAAP measures are not substitutes for complete GAAP
measures does not represent a substantive discussion of the material limitations of the
measures. |
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You do not appear to have provided any substantive discussion of the manner in which
you compensate for the limitations of the measures. |
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You do not appear to provide substantive discussion of the reasons why you believe
the measures are useful to investors. In this regard, you do not explain why it is
useful to investors to evaluate your operating results and corporate performance
without including the impact of your capital structure or the method by which assets
were acquired. Separately, you do not explain why it is reasonable to include the
revenue stream from acquired entities but exclude material costs of acquiring those
revenue streams. |
In the event you chose to provide similar measures in filed documents, carefully consider
this comment and related guidance under the responses to questions 8 and 15 from Frequently
Asked Questions Regarding the use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures. At
Securities and Exchange Commission
September 22, 2006
Page 5
such as you file any documents that include similar measures, we may have further comment
Please note, similar considerations may apply to information furnished under Item 2.02 of
Form 8-K, including presentations that eliminate the impact of stock based compensation.
We consider EBTDA to be an important financial measure for Digi in measuring and monitoring our
internal performance. EBTDA is also used widely in the communications technology industry as an
indicator of financial health and our analysts and investors use EBTDA in assessing our
performance. However, we have considered the Staffs further comments regarding our use of EBTDA
as a non-GAAP financial measure, and consistent with our response to Comment 2, we will not present
EBTDA as a non-GAAP measure in future filings with the SEC. We agree that any public presentation
of EBTDA as a non-GAAP financial measure in other than SEC-filed documents will conform to
Regulation G.
As it relates to our past presentation of EBTDA as a non-GAAP measure, we are providing the
following additional information specifically responding to the Staffs comments related to our
past disclosures to demonstrate the usefulness of this measure:
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Our incentive compensation plans include EBTDA to measure operating performance. All
employees in the company are eligible for the incentive plan. Since we want all employees
to have a stake in how the company performs in addition to their own individual
performance, we tie part of their incentive payment to overall company financial
performance. Since not all employees can influence decisions relating to acquisitions or
divestitures, capital purchases, or taxes, we defined EBTDA as the measurement criterion
since it can be consistently measured year after year and it is more likely that a broader
group of employees in the company can take actions that influence EBTDA. |
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As indicated in the preceding bullet, we use EBTDA as it provides for a reliable and
consistent way of measuring company performance year over year, not only for the incentive
plan but also as a key performance indicator (KPI) of how we are performing tactically
compared to prior periods and our operating plan. We also use EBTDA to measure ourselves
against the performance of other companies in the communications technology sector. |
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We recognize that there can be material limitations associated with the use of a
non-GAAP measure such as EBTDA. We consider these material limitations to include those
noted below: |
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EBTDA does not reflect our cash expenditures; |
Securities and Exchange Commission
September 22, 2006
Page 6
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(b) |
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Although depreciation and amortization are
non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will be
replaced in the future and EBTDA does not reflect any cash requirements
for such replacements; |
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(c) |
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EBTDA does not reflect changes in, or cash
requirements for, our working capital needs; |
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(d) |
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Other companies in our industry may calculate
EBTDA differently than we do, limiting its usefulness as a comparative
measure. |
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We believe that in our past filings we compensated for the limitations of these measures
in the following ways: |
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cautioning readers that non-GAAP measures are not substitutes for GAAP
measures, such as operating income or net income, for purposes of analyzing our
financial performance; |
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providing discussion in MD&A and the footnotes that provide detail on
intangibles and taxes; |
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providing reconciliations of the non-GAAP measures to the most
comparable GAAP measures to provide transparency. |
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We noted in our previous response that our investors tell us that EBTDA provides useful
information, and that our analysts use EBTDA as a measure of our operating performance in
their research reports to investors. Digi has historically been regarded as a value
company by many of our shareholders and they have expressed an interest in seeing EBTDA.
As a result, we have monitored our performance exclusive of the impact of decisions
relating to acquisitions and taxes which are very important but peripheral to the core
operations of our business. |
Financial Statements
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 6. Segment Information and Major Customers, page 59
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We note your response to prior comment number 5 from our letter dated June 13, 2006. We
further note the following: |
Securities and Exchange Commission
September 22, 2006
Page 7
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Your revised reporting structure provides information for a single reportable
segment only, and therefore does not provide any meaningful information regarding sales
by product; |
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The revised information reviewed by your CODM identifies revenues recognized from
several different product offerings or categories; and, |
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Discussion in your MD&A indicates that changes in sales levels and profit margins
for various products or product categories have materially impacted your historical
results. |
In view of these factors, it appears that the disclosure of revenue from external customers from
each product or similar group of products is required. See SFAS 131, par. 37.
Following our changes in product strategy, technology integration and organizational structure in
the first quarter of fiscal 2006, we view our products in two groups consisting of non-embedded
products and embedded products. Non-embedded products provide external connectivity solutions,
while embedded products solutions generally incorporate networking modules or microprocessors that
are smaller in size than non-embedded products and are internal to the devices being networked.
Our sales strategy is to provide a migration path for customers using non-embedded products to
seamlessly migrate to our embedded products.
We believe that all of our products have essentially similar production processes, classes of
customers, economic characteristics, and similar degrees of risk which lends itself to our single
operating segment structure. However, given our focus and internal reporting of revenue by
non-embedded and embedded products, we have considered the Staffs comment and will disclose
revenue from external customers in our segment information and major customers footnote by embedded
and non-embedded products groupings in accordance with SFAS 131, paragraph 37 in future filings.
We will also discuss revenue using this classification in our MD&A for all years presented in
future filings, including the Form 8-K referred to in our response to Comment 1. We believe that
the general migration of our customers from non-embedded products to embedded products provides
some differentiation in the nature of our products and their potential growth rates such that
providing sales information by these product categories will assist the readers of our financial
statements in developing a better understanding of our sales performances and trends and comply
with SFAS 131, paragraph 37.
Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period Ended June 30, 2006
Financial Statements
Notes to the Financial Statements
Note 8. Income Taxes, page 12
Securities and Exchange Commission
September 22, 2006
Page 8
5. |
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We note your disclosure regarding tax benefits recorded during the third quarter of fiscal
year 2006. Describe for us, in reasonable detail, the facts and circumstances surrounding each
of the tax matters identified. As part of your response, provide a timeline of significant
events related to each of the matters. Explain your basis for concluding that recognition in
the third quarter of fiscal year 2006 was appropriate. |
We have certain tax uncertainties associated with filing positions related to transactions entered
into in the ordinary course of our business. We have consistently accounted for uncertain tax
positions using a gain contingency approach such that previously unrecognized tax benefits are not
recognized as a tax benefit until the contingency has been resolved. We are currently in the
process of evaluating the impact that FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainties in
Income Taxes, will have on our consolidated financial statements upon adoption.
We recognized a tax benefit of $0.6 million as a discrete event in the third quarter of fiscal
2006. The tax benefit was comprised of the resolution of prior year uncertainties related to a
protective claim of $0.2 million and interest on an IRS audit settlement of $0.1 million. In
addition, we recorded $0.3 million of other tax benefits primarily related to prior year research
and development credits. The occurrence of these discrete tax events are disclosed in our Form
10-Q financial statements for the third quarter of fiscal 2006. The details pertaining to these
items are discussed in further detail in the following paragraphs.
A tax refund of $0.2 million was received late in the second quarter of fiscal 2006 as a result of
a protective claim that was filed pending a final resolution of the Hutchinson Technology, Inc. v.
Commissioner of Revenue case that was argued before the Minnesota Supreme Court. The case involved
a dispute regarding certain deductions between a parent corporation and a foreign sales corporation
(FSC) prior to the repeal of FSCs in 2001. We used to have a FSC and filed a protective claim to
preserve our right to such deductions should a determination be made in favor of Hutchinson that
might also apply to our situation. A final determination was made in favor of Hutchinson
Technology on June 5, 2005; however, the outcome of our claim was unknown since the Minnesota
Department of Revenue had not examined our claim. Based on direct discussions with representatives
of the Minnesota Department of Revenue, this was not expected to occur until sometime during our
fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. On March 23, toward the end of our second fiscal quarter of 2006,
we unexpectedly received a refund relating to the protective claim. At the time of receipt we were
uncertain whether Minnesota had examined the claim since the refund was issued months before the
State had previously indicated any refund might by forthcoming. In the past, Minnesota has issued
refunds to expedite claims and to stop the accrual of interest when a large number of claims have
been filed and then come back later to further examine them. This uncertainty was not resolved
until the third quarter of fiscal 2006 when Minnesota was able to assure us that no adjustment or
further audit of the claim was anticipated. On the basis of these subsequent assurances by the
State, we believe the refund was appropriately recorded as a tax benefit in the third fiscal
quarter of 2006.
A refund of interest of $74,300 was received in the second quarter of fiscal 2006 resulting from a
final determination by the Internal Revenue Service regarding interest on audit assessments for
Securities and Exchange Commission
September 22, 2006
Page 9
fiscal years 2001 and 2002 and related net operating loss and credit carryback years. At the time
we settled this audit with the Internal Revenue Service in November 2004, we made a payment to
cover estimated taxes and interest. The settlement was approved by the Congressional Joint
Committee on Taxation in February 2005. Similar to the situation described above with the
protective claim refund, at the time we received the interest there were uncertainties existing as
to whether this refund was final or whether further adjustments would be made. This is because
numerous IRS notices with adjustments had been received over the prior year regarding the matter
and the interest received was greater than what we or the IRS auditor had anticipated. This
uncertainty was not resolved until the third quarter of fiscal 2006 when we concluded that the
amount received would remain unchanged as enough time had elapsed with no further adjustment
notices. On the basis of this determination, we believe the refund of interest was appropriately
recorded as a tax benefit in the third fiscal quarter of 2006.
We also recorded research and development credit benefits that were not anticipated at the time the
fiscal year 2005 tax provision was prepared. These credits were generated as a result of an annual
research and development tax credit study which for the first time included Rabbit Semiconductor
(Rabbit), acquired in May 2005. During the course of the study it was determined that additional
opportunities were likely available in prior years which resulted in an increase in credits equal
to $0.1 million. An additional $0.2 million also resulted because of the more advantageous base
period which was determined when the research study was completed in the third quarter of fiscal
2006, at the time the tax returns were filed. These determinations were not known until the study
was completed in the third fiscal quarter of 2006.
Note 11 Segment Information, page 14
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Disclosure under this footnote indicates, in part, that you have a single operating segment.
However, the information provided to us in response to prior comment number 7 from our letter
dated June 30, 2006 includes discrete financial information related to your Rabbit operations.
As a result, it appears that you have multiple operating segments. Explain to us why you
believe your disclosure regarding the number of operating segments you have is consistent with
the reports you have provided. Additionally, explain, in reasonable detail, why you believe
the segment information you have provided complies with SFAS 131, paragraphs 10 through 25. To
the extent that operating segments have been aggregated, explain how you have evaluated the
criteria of SFAS 131, par. 17. |
In addition to the information we provided in response to your Comment 7 in your letter dated June
13, 2006, we are providing the following additional information. When Rabbit was acquired in late
fiscal 2005, discrete financial information was generated because it was newly acquired and on a
separate ERP system. Rabbit was functionally integrated upon acquisition and does not have a
separate general manager. There are no incentive targets based on Rabbits financial performance.
We do not believe that the inclusion of discrete financial information in
Securities and Exchange Commission
September 22, 2006
Page 10
our CODM financial reporting package related to Rabbit results in Rabbit being considered a
separate operating segment under SFAS 131. The factors we considered in our conclusion are as
follows:
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The discrete Rabbit financial information is included solely for purposes of providing
analyst guidance on the impact of the Rabbit acquisition, and the financial information is
not used by the CODM to assess performance or allocate resources. At the time of
acquisition of Rabbit, we communicated metrics for fiscal 2006 to the financial community
relative to anticipated revenue and earnings per share accretion resulting from the
acquisition. |
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It was expressly stated and documented by management that the discrete Rabbit financial
information was to be included in the CODM financial package only through fiscal year 2006
once the analyst guidance ended and would not be included in such package in fiscal year
2007. |
To substantiate our comments above, we have provided below certain excerpts from our internal
documentation prepared to support our segment reporting and conclusion that we had a single
operating segment. The support was prepared prior to filing our Form 10-Q for the first quarter
of fiscal year 2006.
The Rabbit and FS Forth locations were functionally integrated from their
acquisition dates and also have no general managers. All Digi products are sold
through a common sales force under the direction of the Senior V.P. of Worldwide
Sales and Marketing.
When Rabbit was acquired in fiscal 2005, a functional reporting structure was put
into place upon acquisition such that Rabbit was not considered a reportable segment
in fiscal year 2005. Discrete financial information was generated because it was
newly acquired and on a separate ERP system, but this information was not used by
the CODM to allocate resources and assess operating performance.
Rabbit Financial Information.
During fiscal 2005, Digi prepared Rabbit financial information on a standalone
basis, and will continue to prepare financial information for Rabbit in fiscal 2006.
Digi believes this is useful information for purposes of providing analyst guidance
on the impact of the Rabbit acquisition, and the financial information is not used
for assessing performance or allocating resources by the CODM. Rabbit financial
information will not be presented separately in future years.
The aggregation criteria were not used in our determination that we are one operating and
reportable segment.
Securities and Exchange Commission
September 22, 2006
Page 11
We anticipate following this same practice for other significant acquisitions, such as the
MaxStream, Inc. acquisition in July 2006.
* * * * *
In responding to the staffs comments, the Company acknowledges that:
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the Company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the
filing; |
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staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not foreclose
the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; and |
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the Company may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by
the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. |
Please feel free to contact the undersigned at 952-912-3125 if the SEC staff has any questions
or concerns regarding this response.
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DIGI INTERNATIONAL INC.
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By: |
/s/ Subramanian Krishnan
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Subramanian Krishnan |
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Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer |
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cc:
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Digi International Inc. Audit Committee |
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Joseph T. Dunsmore |
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Terrence J. Ward |
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PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP |
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James E. Nicholson |
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Faegre & Benson LLP |