And heres a bigger company
Micro Focus Group PLC (MIFGY)
Seems they are doing some European acquistition
Wednesday March 4, 6:03 am Eastern Time
INTERVIEW-Micro Focus on acquisition trail
LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - Micro Focus Group PLC (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: MICF.L;
MIFGY - news), the Anglo American information technology consultants, said on Wednesday it
was launching an aggressive acquisition programme and seeking two purchases worth more than
$50 million each.
''I would anticipate one in Europe that I would hope to be in excess of $50 million and one in the
U.S. of the same size,'' president and chief executive Martin Waters told a telephone conference
call.
''We have a list of (service) companies that we think would be appropriate and we have initiated
discussions with several of them,'' he added.
Waters declined to reveal who it was talking to.
Micro Focus provides IT products and consulting solutions and hopes to position itself as a strategic
partner for IT companies.
But the company, which says it has has a technology advantage over its rivals, is appointing a
dedicated acquisition team and is targeting management of applications and construction areas so
traditional tools can work on multiple platforms.
It plans to make an announcement within 90 days.
''The company is well positioned for profitable growth in its traditional markets and with that strong
platform we believe we can move the company into new, expanding markets that will fuel future
growth,'' Waters said.
The group, which earlier sent its shares surging in London by unveiling a 201 percent rise in fourth
quarter net income to $5.3 million and a 39 percent increase in revenue to $52 million, ended the
year with minimal debt and an $81 million cash pile.
Micro Focus is planning to release new products, including a comprehensive products and services
to counteract the so-called millennium bug year 2000 computer problem, a new solution for
mainframe maitenance and a European Monetary Union (EMU) analysis product.
Waters said year 2000 solutions accounted for around 20 percent of total group revenues of
$167.3 million and could account for around 25 percent next year.
The EMU product is due to be launched in the first half of this year and is expected to contribute
''significantly'' to future sales.
By 1030 GMT, the group's shares were trading at 3337.5 pence, a rise of 135p, or 4.22 percent.
Joe |
