MIAMI, FL – Friday, October 10, 2003: Farnborough, UK-based Systems Union Group plc (LSE: SUG), today announces that it has reached an agreement to make an offer to acquire MIS AG of Darmstadt, Germany, a leading global provider of business intelligence solutions. MIS will operate as a subsidiary of Systems Union Group within a newly formed Business Intelligence Division. In North America, Systems Union is headquartered in Miami, Florida and MIS AG is located in Newark, NJ.
Systems Union has agreed to pay a total consideration of GBP 23.7 million (approximately US $40 million) and, as at 10th October 2003, it had received irrevocable undertakings to accept the offer and a call option in aggregate of 50.7% of the MIS shares.
MIS AG enables companies to enhance business performance through customized planning, reporting and analysis solutions. More than 23,000 users in 1,000 companies around the world use its software for business-critical initiatives ranging from real-time sales analysis and consolidation to risk management and long-term planning.
Founded in 1988, MIS has a workforce of 460 people and its shares trade on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s Prime Standard under the symbol MIX. Headquartered in Darmstadt, the company has seven offices in Germany, seven subsidiaries in Europe and thirteen representative organizations worldwide.
Paul Coleman, Chief Executive Officer of Systems Union, commented: "I am delighted to announce our offer to bring MIS AG into the group. Its management team has built a very strong player in the business intelligence market, and the excellent customer base and strong solution portfolio will be a very valuable addition to the Systems Union group. As well as continuing to operate independently in the business intelligence market, the complementary nature of the other group subsidiaries will provide an excellent platform from which to strengthen MIS’ market position.”
Peter Raue, Chief Executive Officer of MIS AG, added: "We are looking forward to taking the leading role in establishing and managing a new global business intelligence division within the international software group, as it will help us to accelerate our expansion plans. The combination of our powerful suite of analytic applications with Systems Union's financial and business management portfolio will deliver a strong competitive edge. In addition Systems Union's impressive global customer base and sales and support infrastructure will provide an excellent platform from which to drive further growth."
