GFT Technologies SE — M&A Activity 1999

Oct 7, 1999

News Details

Ad-hoc | 7 October 1999 06:25

Ad hoc-Service: GFT Technologies AG

Ad-hoc announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. —————————————————————————— GFT grows with strategic acquisition Expectations for 1999 revenues raised to more than DM 100 mn. St. Georgen, Oct. 7 1999 – GFT Technologies AG, software- und IT service company for integrated web-based solutions, has acquired 74.9 per cent. of Hamburg based ACS Systemberatung GmbH as of 1st January, 1999. With this strategic acquisition expectations for 1999 GFT group revenues increase up to more than DM 100 mn. Furthermore GFT gains considerable competitive advantage in both the area of web-based workflow systems and the integration of e-business solutions in ERP systems. “With ACS we acquire a successful IT solutions company with which we have a lot in common: a long IT-history, a profound technology base and experience in the realization of projects as well as a future oriented and customer related philosophy,” says Ulrich Dietz, Chief Executive Officer of GFT Technologies AG. “As far as strategy is concerned we complement one another exceptionally well. GFT’s e-business competence in combination with ACS’s know how of SAP and workflow solutions will allow us to realize web- based workflow solutions of added value to our customers.” GFT benefits from the acquisition by gaining useful contacts to the renowned customer base of ACS including among others DaimlerChrysler Aerospace Airbus, HypoVereinsbank and Arcor. By working closely together in cities like Dortmund, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich where both companies have offices, even more synergies can be achieved. Finally GFT will use ACS’s existing sales structures in England and France for further expansion in Europe. “This is an important step for all of us. GFT gains with ACS HYPARCHIV a great technology and a team of highly qualified employees,” says Manfred Anhalt, Managing Director of ACS Systemberatung GmbH. “As a member of the GFT group, I see an exciting future for ACS. The demand for integration of ERP systems in web based solutions and vice versa is high. Our customers will benefit from receiving a professional solution from one single supplier.” ACS Systemberatung GmbH was founded in 1980 and is a software and IT solutions company with key competencies in archive and workflow solutions, IT consulting and SAP consulting. The company, headquartered in Hamburg, employs currently 250 people. Revenues in 1998 amounted to DM 44 mn. Customers include: British American Tobacco, DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Börse Systems, Elf Oil, Gruner + Jahr, Reemtsma, Heinrich Bauer Verlag, Mannesmann, Mobil Oil, Philips und Thyssen. In 1998, for the second time in a row, GFT Technologies AG (GFT AG) ranked amongst Europe’s 500 most innovative and fastest growing companies. As a software and IT service company for web-based solutions, GFT AG sets itself apart with an all-encompassing range of product packages and services on a fixed time/fixed price basis for customized Internet, e-commerce, customer care and supply chain management solutions: in-depth technological expertise, software development tools, design competency, multimedia and image transfer onto new media, many years of project and methods experience as well as IT business consulting. GFT was founded in 1987 and has recorded an average growth rate of around 45 per cent per year. GFT Group revenues for fiscal 1998 amounted to DM 39.8 million. The Group, headquartered in St. Georgen, currently employs around 300 people in eleven locations in Ger many, Switzerland, Ireland and USA. GFT Technologies AG shares have been traded at the Neuer Markt segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since June 28, 1999 under the ticker symbol GFT (WKN 580 060). For further information on GFT AG, visit http://www.internetprofi.com Press Contact: Sandra Strüwing, GFT Technologies AG Leopoldstrasse 1, D-78112 St. Georgen Germany Tel.: +49 (0)7724/9411-423 Fax: +49 (0)7724/9411-883 E-mail: sandra.struewing@gft.de End of Message