FYI - copied from IHub... By Michael P. Bruno,Washtech.com Staff Writer. Thursday, April 5, 2001; 4:00 PM
CBQ Inc., an e-business infrastructure company based in Hunt Valley, this afternoon said it has acquired nearly all of the assets of Technet Computer Services Inc. of Tysons Corner and Networkland Inc. of Arlington for an undisclosed amount of stock.
They are "not the last, just watch," said Bart S. Fisher, CBQ's chairman, president and CEO. Fisher further said CBQ has inked letters of intent to buy two unidentified Baltimore-area companies, which he expects will close in the next two months.
The four acquisitions would add about 80 employees to CBQ, which currently employs about 150 people with the two Northern Virginian staffs counted. A month ago, CBQ announced a deal to acquire EasySoft International, a Miami software outsourcing company with offices in Beijing, China.
CBQ is hoping the acquisitions will more than double its revenue, which came in at $11 million in 2000, and help bolster its languishing stock. The stock [OTCBB:CBQI] closed Wednesday at 15 cents a share, way off its 52-week high of $9.88.
The company is dumbfounded why its stock price has not gained value, Fisher said. "I'm very frustrated that there is something out there we can't control," he said. "If there are no buyers, then there are no buyers." He said CBQ plans to move up to a bigger board such as the Nasdaq or American Stock Exchange within two months, but declined to say how that would be done.
The Northern Virginian acquisitions mirror CBQ's Baltimore-area software development assets, Fisher said. Technet and Networkland will beef up CBQ's workforce, extend its geographical footprint, open the door to federal contracts and enhance the company's offerings.
The expected acquisitions of two Baltimore-area companies also will bolster the company's offerings. One is a Web design and hosting group while the other is a network integration and infrastructure company - both areas in which CBQ does not currently concentrate. |
