IT services company Compel
Group this week acquired Pangaea,
a provider
of Web design and Internet-based solutions to major U.K. corporations.
The terms of the takeover are that Compel will pay a total of £10.5
million ($17.01 million),
of which £2.5 million ($4.05 million) becomes due immediately. The
initial payment
will consist of £1.75 million ($2.84 million) in cash and £0.75
million
($1.21 million) in Compel shares.
A highly profitable company, Pangaea made a profit before tax of
£571,670 (approx. $926,000)
on a turnover of £1,254,108 (just over $2 million) in the year ended
September 30, 1999.
Very few Internet-related firms in the U.K. can boast a comparable
profit-to-turnover ratio.
Pangaea will
continue to trade independently under the name Compelreach.
“Compel’s existing businesses are increasingly addressing opportunities
created by the growing
importance of the internet and e-commerce,” said Neville Davis, chairman and
chief executive
of Compel.
“The acquisition of Pangaea broadens further our range of services in this
area; we are finding
that UK corporates are turning to companies like Pangaea for services such
as Web site design
and browser/multimedia technology based communications and we will now be
able to offer these
from within the Compel Group.”
Compel’s acquisition of Pangaea is conditional on the admission of the
initial consideration shares
to the London Stock Exchange’s Official List. Compel has applied for the
admission of
164,817 ordinary shares of 5p each which it has issued to the vendors of
Pangaea.
Compel also reported that it has recently secured new business
contracts that
could generate over £200 million ($324 million) over the next four
years.
The deals include
two projects with major city financial institutions, with Siemens for
supplying desktop
technology, and an outsourcing contract with a northern industrial services
company.
