| Computacenter
plc. acquires GE CompuNet and GE Capital IT Solutions Austria
Shareholders
and Antitrust Authorities agree on the take-over
Kerpen/Vienna, January 2, 2003 – After reviewing, the
shareholders of Computacenter and the responsible Antitrust
Authorities agreed on the finalisation of the merger between
GE CompuNet in Germany, GE Capital IT Solutions Austria and
Computacenter plc. The new and significantly strengthened company
earns 4 billion Euro annually, employs more than 10,000 employees
and serves customers in the three biggest European markets:
in Germany, Great Britain and France and furthermore in Austria,
Belgium and Luxembourg.
Through
the merger of Computacenter with GE CompuNet and GE Capital
IT Solutions Austria, fully integrated multi-country services,
which cover the whole lifecycle of the IT Infrastructure, can
be offered to globally operating customers of the new company.
For the advantage of the customers, Computacenter will reinforce
their relationships with all IT vendors and leverage mutual
investments on a European basis.
The
new parent company, Computacenter plc turned over in excess
of 3 billion euros in 2001, with a net cash position of approximately
103 million euros prior to the acquisition and remains one of
the mostprofitable IT companies in Europe.
Mike
Norris, Chief Executive of Computacenter plc, said, “GE
CompuNet is the German equivalent of Computacenter. It has a
strong services element in its portfolio and this supports Computacenter's
strategy of growing its services base and building contracted
revenue streams. This acquisition represents an important step
forward in establishing Computacenter as Europe’s leading
infrastructure services provider.”
The
acquisition is a win-win-situation for all companies involved.
Dr. Johannes Meier, CEO of GE CompuNet: „The impact and
the success of a merger depends very much on the implementation
and a successful integration. Our advantage is that we know
that we fit perfectly – something we experienced through
our alliances of past years. In Great-Britain, Computacenter
has been on the market nearly for the same period as GE CompuNet
in Germany. Furthermore, it has a very similar culture and is
also focused on the same IT infrastructure topics. And neither
the management team nor the strategy of the company is going
to change by the acquisition.” Hermann Kaineder, CEO of
GE Capital IT Solutions Austria, adds: „We are convinced
that being a part of Computacenter will enable us to further
improve our position in the Austrian market. Especially in the
areas of Managed Services, Systems Integration and support of
multi-national customers we see great opportunities for the
future.“
About
Computacenter:
Computacenter is a leading European provider of IT infrastructure services.
To help our customers maximise the value of IT to their businesses, we
offer services at every stage of infrastructure investment. We can help
our customers with the choice of technology, its procurement,
tailored configuration, testing and integration within the enterprise.
We can then ensure continued efficient, cost effective performance through
our range of operational management services. The company's corporate and
public sector clients are served by a network of branch offices across the
UK, Germany, Austria, France, Luxembourg and Belgium and, through our international
partners, at locations throughout Europe, Asia Pacific and North America.
About
GE CompuNet:
GE CompuNet is one of Germany's main vendor-independent system
reseller and integrator for the IT infrastructure needs of corporations.
GE CompuNet focuses on the design, integration and operating
of distributed and central IT infrastructures.
About
GE Capital IT Solutions Austria:
GE Capital IT Solutions Austria is a key IT infrastructure and
solutions provider for the Austrian corporate market.
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