 
Atlantic Bridge Ventures leads investment consortium in acquisition of LogicaCMG’s Telecoms Products business for £265m Atlantic Bridge Ventures (“Atlantic Bridge”), a European multi-stage technology private equity fund, announces that it has led a consortium of private equity buyers in the acquisition of LogicaCMG’s Telecoms Products business, for a cash consideration of £265m (€392m*). Telecoms Products, to be renamed Acision, is the world’s leading provider of converged mobile messaging solutions for text and multimedia messaging for 300 customers, who serve over 1 billion consumers worldwide. They also provide voice and video mail services and are a leading provider of intelligent payment solutions for both pre- and post-paid users, and innovative products for content and media and customer intelligence management that offers real-time analysis of customer behaviour. The Company works with 300 network operators and service providers in 135 countries and employs approximately 1,700 people across 22 countries. In 2005, Telecoms Products (Acision) generated total EBITDA** of £23.0m and adjusted** operating profit of £13.9m, revenues of £254.7m The consortium is led by Atlantic Bridge and its venture partner Larry Quinn, the former CEO and Chairman of Logica Mobile Networks from 1997 to 2003. The Atlantic Bridge consortium is 50% supported by Access Industries, a privately held, US-based industrial holding company. It is also supported by Dermot Desmond’s private equity vehicle International Investment and Underwriting (IIU). The consortium team is led by partners with exceptional domain knowledge and operating experience in the telecommunications industry. These partners intend to leverage the considerable expertise and financial assets at their disposal to fully develop Acision’s potential as the leading company in this market. It is intended that this investment will enable Acision to expand and enhance its product offering, building on the firm’s heritage of pioneering innovation. The consortium also believes that Acision’s divestment from LogicaCMG will enable Acision to expand its channels to customers through relationships with other systems integration and services companies. Acision, which pioneered the development of SMS messaging, is today the world leading provider of mobile messaging solutions for text multimedia and voicemail, processing over half the world’s text and multimedia messages every day. Building on this heritage, Acision will now have expertise and investment to leverage its lead in converging technologies and build similar successes in other facets of its portfolio Acision’s management team and employees will transfer with the business as part of this transaction Brian Long, Managing Partner, Atlantic Bridge, commented: “This investment marks a significant step for Atlantic Bridge following our launch in 2005 and represents the foundation of our investment strategy of targeting businesses operating in high-growth sectors within our core areas of industry expertise. The consortium has significant expertise in working within the telecom infrastructure sector, and we are delighted to have invested alongside Access Industries, and International Investment and Underwriters" “We have been hugely impressed with the quality of Acision’s people, its portfolio and the extensive customer base. We, and our consortium partners, plan to invest substantially in Acision’s portfolio. Given the wealth of industry expertise within the consortium, we are confident that we can drive growth in the business to the benefit of our investors and Acision’s customers and employees in the years to come.” Jefferies Broadview acted as financial adviser to the consortium in this transaction. *Exchange rate of 1.48 **Adjusted operating profit measures exclude, whenever such items occur, the results from discontinued operations, exceptional items and amortisation of those intangible assets initially recognised at fair value in a business combination. — ENDS — |