News Release - Acquisition
This should fuel some upward movement in the stock. Shaping up to be an interesting week, with a teleconference call tomorrow and the AGM as well.
Canadian Company Press Release
GOLI 2000-06-26 (provided courtesy of BCE Emergis E-News Services)
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William acquires stake in LeadingEdge Payroll Group Inc.
Toronto, Ontario --
* Profitable enterprise since establishment in 1996; recent
expanded focus on payroll and HR outsourcing market through
Pinnacle subsidiary will continue to increase revenues and
profitability
* Dataquest / GartnerGroup study heralds continued significant
growth for outsourcing market; LeadingEdge poised to exploit
trend with unique total management approach to outsourcing, new
technology and web-based solutions and track record in
development of new markets
* Recognized as only multi-dimensional payroll company in Canada;
also offers consulting and re-engineering services, training
seminars and conferences, research, compliance and subscription
services, and professional recruitment
* Expanding client base includes companies form Canada's top 500
* Management team recognized internationally as leading experts
in Canadian payroll, human resources and information
technology, offering more than 150 years of practical payroll
and HR experience
William Resources Inc. is pleased to announce that it has signed
a definitive agreement to acquire a stake in LeadingEdge Payroll
Group Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, William will acquire
a 42-percent stake in LeadingEdge in exchange for an initial
payment of $4.3 million and additional payments totaling $3
million based on LeadingEdge's financial performance for the
years ending December 31, 2001 and December 31, 2002. The initial
payment is payable by issuing a yet-to-be-determined number of
William shares, based on the 20-day weighted average trading
price prior to the date of closing. An additional payment of up
to 10,000,000 shares may be issued based on the performance of
the William shares over the 90 days subsequent to closing of the
transaction which is scheduled to occur on or before June 30,
2000. William retained Coniston Investment Corporation to act as
an advisor in connection with this transaction.
As Canada's only multi-dimensional payroll company, LeadingEdge
captures the entire payroll and HR administration cycle, through
a unique total outsourcing management approach. LeadingEdge also
provides recruitment services, consulting, re-engineering,
software selection and implementation support,
education/training, research and subscription services.
LeadingEdge will continue to operate as a separate entity,
further developing its payroll/HR software system, web-based
technologies and proprietary toolbox, primarily as they relate to
payroll and HR administrative outsourcing.
The investment by William in LeadingEdge is timely. According to
a recent study performed by Dataquest, a division of
GartnerGroup, the worldwide HR outsourcing market, including
payroll, is projected to grow from approximately $26.2 billion in
1999 to approximately $76.4 billion in 2004. In the United States
alone, the market for integrated, multi-process HR outsourcing is
expected to grow from over $900 million in 1999 to more than $12
billion in 2003.
With its total management approach to outsourcing, combined with
its track record in developing new markets, LeadingEdge is poised
to capture much of this similar, anticipated growth in Canada.
LeadingEdge has already demonstrated an ability to take advantage
of market trends by consistently expanding its offerings to the
payroll and human resource communities since its establishment in
1996.
During the past 24 months, LeadingEdge has experienced
significant growth in the outsourcing arena, in particular. Its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Pinnacle Payroll Solutions Inc.,
operates as the payroll and HR administrative department of
record for companies across Canada. Pinnacle distinguishes itself
competitively by transcending the traditional gross-to-net
payroll processing to complete the entire payroll and HR
administration cycle.
Pinnacle addresses critical compliance issues, implements best
practices, handles all input and output requirements, completes
reconciliations, provides web-based employee self-service portals
and supplies expert practitioners to respond directly to client
and employee needs. The service delivery is backed by robust,
proprietary software that features full web-enablement and allows
greater flexibility in meeting clients' unique needs. Companies
who outsource through LeadingEdge's Pinnacle solution typically
enjoy lower operating and capital costs, increased capacity to
focus on strategic and revenue-generating activity and improved
employee service and satisfaction.
LeadingEdge's client base covers both the private and public
sectors, including clients who are listed among Canada's top 500
companies. Clients typically look to LeadingEdge to design
efficient processes and sustain continuous improvement, using
technology as a key enabler of long-term cost-reduction through
efficient information management and automation of recurring
transactions.
Collectively, the LeadingEdge/Pinnacle management team boasts
more than 150 years of practical payroll and HR experience and
leadership. Its accumulated expertise includes strategic
planning, marketing, sales, consulting, software development,
implementations, operations, client services, call center
management, training and publishing. Four members of the
management group have chaired The Canadian Payroll Association's
board of directors and two have held the top full-time executive
position in the association.
LeadingEdge's has offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Oakville
and Thornhill, Ontario. Its Pinnacle outsourcing service centers
are located in Calgary and Thornhill.
Ian Mise, President and Chief Executive Officer of LeadingEdge
Payroll Group Inc., commented, "As organizations continue to
review their payroll and HR operations, many are discovering that
total outsourcing is a viable and very cost-effective
alternative. This opens up a wide range of opportunities for
LeadingEdge. While we will continue to demonstrate industry
leadership in consulting and other value added services, our
'total management approach' to payroll and HR administration,
combined with our superior service levels and internally
developed enabling technologies, makes us unique in the
marketplace. Our relationship with William will help us to
further enhance product and service offerings."
William has recently restructured and repositioned itself to
become a prominent player as a technology/bio-technology
'incubator'. It offers developing companies financial and
management support to aid their expansion programs. "We are
particularly interested in organizations involved in connectivity
technology, software development and internet solutions, " said
Stan Bharti, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of William.
"LeadingEdge is a well-positioned and well known industry leader
and meets our requirement as a provider of cutting edge
technology products and services", he added.
Investor Conference Call
------------------------
On Tuesday June 27 at 11:30 AM EST, the Management team of
William will be holding a teleconference to update shareholders
on the latest company progress, developments, and acquisitions,
and highlight the recently announced C Sixty bio-technology
transaction. The conference will last for 30 minutes and will
include a presentation made by management, followed by a question
and answer period during which calls will be taken. The phone
number to call in for local calls is 416-620-2411 and North
American callers is 800-871-4101. There will also be an
opportunity for those that missed the conference to listen to a
recorded replay by calling 800-558-5253, and entering access
code# 15628053.
About William
As previously announced, William has changed its focus from gold
mining to technology, and is evaluating several opportunities for
acquisition and/or merger in this non-resource sector. William is
particularly interested in companies involved in biotech,
connectivity technology, software development and Internet
solutions.
William is in advanced discussions on other transactions in the
technology and bio-tech sectors and expects to announce further
developments in the near future. By the time of the scheduled
annual and special meeting of June 27th, 2000, William expects to
have totally eliminated its debt and the Company should be well
on its way towards restructuring itself as a multi-technology
organization. The shareholders will also be asked to approve a
name change to William Multi-Tech Inc. at the annual and special
meeting.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has determined that William has
changed the nature of its business and must meet all of the
original listing requirements of the Exchange by the earlier of
six months following the closing of the transaction noted above
or a proposed bio tech transaction (whichever is first) and
December 21, 2000. If the Company fails to meet original listing
requirements by the stated deadline, the Exchange may suspend
trading in the Company's shares or require the Company to delist
from the Exchange.
The Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders will be held at
the Sheraton Centre Hotel, Dominion Ballroom South, 123 Queen
Street West, 2nd Floor, Toronto, Ontario at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday
June 27th, 2000.
Contact William: Contact Coniston Investment Corp:
Reg Burden/Kam Gill Paul A. Parisotto
Directors of Investor President
Relations 390 Bay Street, Suite 2020
390 Bay Street, Suite 2008 Toronto, Ontario M5H 2Y2
Toronto, Ontario M5H 2Y2 Tel: (416) 369-9333
Tel: (416) 861-9500 Fax: (416) 603-1708
Fax: (416) 861-8165
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