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euro adhoc: S&T System Integration&Technology Distribution AG
Mergers - Acquisitions - Takeovers
S&T Acquires Consulting Company IMG

About The Information Management Group (IMG) -

  Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible
  for the content of this announcement.
11.01.2007
Biggest Acquisition in the Company’s History
11 January 2007. Subject to the approval of the anti-trust
authorities, S&T AG, the leading provider of IT services in Central
and Eastern Europe, will purchase all shares in IMG Holding - The
Information Management Group. The largest acquisition in the
company’s history will enable S&T to strengthen and expand its core
business area Business Solutions, enhance its portfolio of services
and extend its geographic presence.
IMG "The Information Management Group" is an international consulting
company headquartered in St. Gallen (Switzerland), which specialises
in the implementation of innovative business models in processes and
systems. At present the company has 653 employees at 27 subsidiaries
in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and the United States. In the
financial year 2006* it generated revenues totalling CHF 130 million
(EUR 81.6 million).
IMG was founded in 1989 as a St. Gallen University spin-off by
professors Hubert Österle and Thomas Gutzwiller, and Tillmann
Hüttenhain and is owned by its founders and employees. The Goldman
Sachs Group and M2 Capital Management AG also hold significant
interests in the company. According to Prof. Thomas A. Gutzwiller,
Chairman of the Board of Directors The Information Management Group,
"speed is an extremely crucial factor on our market. We were no
longer able to optimally exploit the potential of the dynamic
consultancy market with purely organic resources. The Management
Board therefore systematically scanned the market for potential
partners. After a careful evaluation process, S&T emerged as the
ideal partner."
S&T’s Consulting Services Continue to Grow For S&T this represents
the biggest takeover in the company’s history. "We are already the
largest provider of IT services in Central and Eastern Europe. This
takeover will hugely expand our lead, as IMG will strengthen our core
business in our domestic markets of Central and Eastern Europe," says
Christian Rosner, CEO of S&T AG. The two companies’ target industries
"manufacturing" and "financial services" also overlap to a large
extent. IMG specialises in providing services for an SAP environment.
The group is therefore an ideal match for S&T which also has a strong
focus on this area and is among the largest SAP consulting companies
in Europe. Last but not least, the IMG subsidiaries in the exciting
growth regions of Asia and the USA will increase the size of S&T’s
geographic footprint. According to Rosner, "the successful
integration of IMG will mean a great deal of work for our experienced
acquisition team. But it will also create huge opportunities which we
will make full use of. After this takeover, the market will look
completely different - and S&T will have reinforced its claim to
leadership. In future, there will be no way around S&T in the IT
services market and especially in the SAP environment segment."
IMG Management Welcomes the Takeover The management team at IMG will
remain on board. Alfred Ermer, CEO of IMG AG, says, "The management
of IMG welcomes and supports this takeover, as we firmly believe this
development will offer employees, customers and partners advantages
and potential for the future and will also provide the company with
major global market synergies." Once the anti-trust authorities have
given their approval, teams of managers and employees at the two
companies will implement the merger and realise strategic and
operational opportunities. The successful IMG brand will be preserved
in most countries for the time being, and the two companies’ will
continue to do business as in the past.
Customers Benefit  Both companies already focus strongly on customers
in the manufacturing and financial services industries and possess
detailed knowledge of the processes and operations in these sectors.
Besides large and medium-sized national enterprises, the two
corporations also count a large number of multi-national companies
among their customers. Together IMG and S&T have more than 3,000
customers (including AOK, Bosch Rexroth, Andritz, Voest Alpine and
Erste Bank). Under the heading Global Delivery, they will soon be
able to call upon the services of an even stronger partner in even
more countries. They will also benefit from the enhanced quality of
consulting and implementation provided by multi-national teams and
from the cost and efficiency advantages that the new company will
offer.
Strengthening the Core Regions / Penetrating New Markets  With the
acquisition of IMG, S&T is not only expanding its presence in Central
and Eastern Europe; it is also extending its geographical footprint
to Asia and the United States. IMG’s strong presence and excellent
position on the markets in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Poland
will give new impetus to this S&T core region. S&T recently sold its
Swiss subsidiary which had been purchased within the scope of another
takeover, but whose service portfolio was not ideally suited to S&T.
The company is now making a vigorous re-entry onto the Swiss market.
In Germany, S&T has a small subsidiary which will achieve critical
market size and gain importance as a result of the new constellation.
Poland has been a key S&T market since 2000. "IMG will give us
additional market strength in our core regions. The subsidiaries in
Japan and China are also extremely interesting for us, as is the fact
that we will gain a foothold in the US IT market," explained Rosner.
Expansion of the Consulting Business, especially in the SAP
environment IMG plans and implements business solutions focussing
mainly on sales, customer service and the supply chain in the
engineering industry, the retail trade, the processing, consumer
goods and financial services industries. It therefore provides a
perfect complement to S&T’s portfolio of services. The takeover will
enable S&T to massively expand its core business area Business
Solutions and will support the Group’s continued successful
development. IMG has extensive experience and highly qualified
workers especially in the area of SAP consulting. Together, the two
companies have more than 1,200 SAP/ERP specialists. Rosner says,
"this takeover immediately turns us into a key player in SAP
services. S&T is now THE partner for all aspects of Business
Solutions and consulting, especially in SAP/ERP. "
The parties have agreed to keep details of the transaction
confidential. S&T will not carry out a capital increase to finance
the transaction. The transaction is subject to the approval of the
anti-trust authorities.
* The IMG financial year ends on 30 September.
Photo:  The contract was signed on 10 January 2007. From left to
right: Christian Rosner, CEO of S&T AG, Martin Bergler, CFO of S&T
AG, Hans Schlegel, Shareholder The Information Management Group, Hans
Peter Koller, Vice President of the Board of Directors The
Information Management Group, Tillmann Hüttenhain, Member of the
Board of Directors The Information Management Group, Hubert Österle,
Member of the Board of Directors The Information Management Group
(IMG).  Right: Hansjörg Appenzeller, attorney at law.
Copyright: S&T
About S&T - www.snt-world.com - XETRA Vienna: SNT With more than
2,350 employees (FTE) at present, S&T is the leading provider of IT
solutions and services for customers in Central and Eastern Europe.
We develop and implement customised IT solutions for large and
medium-sized enterprises, in particular telecommunications companies,
banks, power utilities, manufacturing companies and public
institutions. Through our subsidiaries in 18 countries we realize
cross-border IT structures, offering our clients outstanding
solutions and service competence.
www.img.com IMG, an
international consulting company headquartered in St. Gallen
(Switzerland) specialises in implementing innovative business models
in processes and systems. It makes use of its many years of industry
experience, leading-edge process expertise and state-of-the-art
tools. With its business engineering-based approach, the company
ensures maximum reliability and security for even the most demanding
projects.
end of announcement                               euro adhoc 11.01.2007 10:20:21

Further inquiry note:

Gabriela Mair
Head of Corporate Communications
Tel.: +43 (0)1 367 80 88-1024
Mobile +43 664 60191 102
Gabriela.Mair@snt-world.com
www.snt-world.com

Branche: Computing & Information Technology
ISIN: AT0000905351
WKN:
Index: WBI, ATX Prime
Börsen: Wiener Börse AG / official market

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