Over a year after its stock-market listing, Staff&Line continues to expand in Europe with a new acquisition giving it access to a leading European market: The United Kingdom
Noisy-le-Grand, 7 September 2006 - Staff&Line continues its drive to expand in Europe with the signature of a preliminary agreement to acquire SAM UK, a specialist in IT Management* solutions in the UK.
Staff&Line is launching this acquisition, which requires the approval of Staff&Line shareholders, to penetrate one of the top high-potential markets in Europe: the UK. The timing is ideal, since the integration plan for SIGHT International has been successfully completed earlier than expected. SIGHT has contributed to Staff&Line’s presence in southern Europe (Spain, Portugal and Italy) since it became a part of the Group last January.
Founded in 1998, SAM UK sells and integrates computer audit and inventory solutions. SAM UK offers unique audit compliance software, recognised by the main worldwide organisations such as the BSA (Business Software Alliance) and FAST (Federation against Software Theft). SAM UK has an installed base of over 300 clients including Reckitt Benckiser (world leader in maintenance products), Sony BMG, Highways Agency (British road network manager) and State Street Bank. Based in London, SAM UK posts €2 million in turnover and a pre-tax margin of 10%. Staff&Line and SAM UK have been working together for several years and already share a number of references.
The founders and current managers of SAM UK, Graham Sharp and David Silsby, possess over ten years in IT Management*. They will continue to manage operations in the United Kingdom.
Bolstered by this acquisition, Staff&Line will benefit from a unique range of services in the UK, including a local installed base and immediate brand recognition on a key European market. It would have required years of work to achieve the same result via the establishment of a local subsidiary.
Payment to SAM UK will come in the form of €1 million in cash with the remainder paid in stock options covering a three-year period at their nominal value for a minimum of 34,560 shares and a maximum of 75,600 Staff&Line shares. The issuance of the stock options will be submitted to the approval of Staff&Line shareholders at the next special shareholders meeting set for October.
Staff&Line, the only independent player in the market, aims to become the European leader in the publication and commercialisation of IT Management software. Already present in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and the United States with 3,000 clients and 90 employees, the acquisition of SAM UK opens the door for the group to northern Europe.
Staff&Line confirms its expected growth of 50% for the year has been exceeded within the first six months with higher-than-expected growth of 58%.
*Management of IT infrastructures
In regard to Staff&Line:
Since its creation in 1998, Staff&Line has positioned itself as a specialist in the IT management market. The company has developed their range of EasyVista applications for organisations of all sizes covering the entire life cycle of IT assets, including: asset management, incident and problem management, change management, configuration management, inventory, portals for users and software distribution. EasyVista is certified ITIL compatible by the independent certification organisation PinkElephant. With operations in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, Staff&Line boasts over 3,000 clients in the banking, insurance, industrial, office, public administration, IT outsourcing and advisory sectors. Staff&Line is a founding member of itSMF France and a member of AFDEL (Association Française Des Editeurs de Logiciels). Staff&Line is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange (Alternext). For further information, please visit us at www.staffandline.fr
