BARRA ANNOUNCES PLANS TO ACQUIRE TED AND DIRECTUS FROM EDINBURGH FINANCIAL PUBLISHING LIMITED
BERKELEY, Calif., September 8, 1997-BARRA, Inc. (NASDAQ:BARZ) ) today announced the signing of definitive agreements to acquire the assets of two businesses from Edinburgh Financial Publishing Limited (EFP) and two of EFP's affiliates, for up to œ 7.25 million in pounds, plus the assumption of ongoing business liabilities. The two businesses are The Estimate Directory (TED), a database of analysts' earnings estimates, and Directus (Directus), a corporate directors equity trading information service. The completion of the definitive agreements will be subject to certain terms and conditions. The acquisition will be accounted for using the purchase method of accounting and will likely result in a one-time write-off of in process development costs.
The acquisition builds on an existing collaboration between BARRA and EFP which produced an electronic version of TED--TED Solutions, a PC-based value added software application that accesses a locally stored copy of the TED database. TED and Directus will complement existing services available within BARRA's newly-formed Investment Data Products business unit. These other services currently include InvestWorks, a database of investment management products and performance; equity betas and other risk data available via Data Downlink Corporation, and fixed income securities information available via Bond Express.
"Our successful experience with TED Solutions pointed the way toward this expanded collaboration. These businesses are an excellent fit with our current strategy of providing a full range of analytical services to investment professionals worldwide," said Andrew Rudd, chairman and chief executive officer of BARRA.
The TED business is comprised of an estimates database that is available in both printed and electronic form, and is sold to clients directly and through third-party vendors. Directus produces reports that highlight significant buying or selling by directors of companies listed in the UK. Directus data is also available through proprietary newsletters and is reprinted in various financial newspapers including the Financial Times. Together, TED and Directus have offices in Edinburgh, Singapore, Yokohama, Hong Kong, New York and Sydney.
Each statement contained in this news release containing any form of the "will" is a forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risk factors and uncertainties. Among other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: failure to achieve certain conditions to complete the definitive agreements. Further information on potential factors that could affect the company's financial results are included in the company's Form 10-K for the 1997 fiscal year filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Please refer to the company's SEC filings, copies of which are available from the company without charge for further information.
BARRA, founded in 1975, provides innovative analytical models, software, consulting and money management services that enable its clients worldwide to make superior investment and trading decisions. Based in Berkeley, Calif., BARRA also has offices in major financial centers throughout the world. Information on BARRA is also available on-line at barra.com. |
