Acquisition

RNS Number : 5524X

BT Group PLC

26 June 2008

 



June 26, 2008

BT TO ACQUIRE German IT services specialistS 
stemmer gmbh AND snd gmbh

BT announced today that it agreed to acquire Stemmer GmbH ("Stemmer") and SND GmbH ("SND"), both German companies constituting the enterprise IT services segment of net AG, listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The acquisitions will strengthen BT's skills and capabilities in the German market, in line with BT's strategy to offer networked IT services to its corporate customers in Germany and globally. 

Stemmer and SND are headquartered in Olching near Munich. The companies provide their customers with a range of IT services including Unified Communications, IP Telephony, Network Integration, IT Security, Storage and Backup Solutions, Datacenter Services and Video Surveillance.

François Barrault, CEO of BT Global Services, said: "This acquisition will add complementary skills and capabilities to our existing portfolio. Stemmer and SND have an excellent reputation in the IT services area. This transaction will complement BT's strengths in the German market and we will be able to offer our customers an even broader portfolio of end-to-end networked IT services." 

    Günther Haag, CEO of Stemmer and SND, said: "We are delighted to join BT. This is great news for our customers, who will continue to receive the same high-quality service that they are accustomed to and who will now have access to BT's extensive portfolio of products and services. This is also a great opportunity for our employees as we are joining a leading German provider for global network and IT services."

    The completion of the acquisition is subject to obtaining regulatory clearance.  As at the last audited balance sheet on 30 September 2007, the combined gross assets of Stemmer and SND were €9.7 million. 

About BT

BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

In the year ended 31 March 2008, BT Group plc's revenue was £20,704 million with profit before taxation and specific items of £2,506 million.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.  

For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt

About Stemmer GmbH and SND GmbH

For more than 30 years Stemmer has been servicing customers from several sectors such as industry, education and public services in the fields of IP-Communication, Data Centre, Business Software and Physical Security. Many of Stemmer's customers are market leaders and pioneers in their business sectors. Our high-end system house with its domicile in Olching near Munich is entrenched in the whole "DACH region" (Germany [D], Austria [A], Switzerland [CH]) due to its nine subsidiaries throughout this area. The basis of our success is the highest degree of availability, flexibility and consistency. As one of the technologically leading system integrators Stemmer assists its customers in achieving their objectives by means of its reliability and anticipatory action. According to a study of the renowned US market research company Meta Group, Stemmer is ranking at the second place among all IT-security service providers in Germany in terms of customer satisfaction. Nearly all important partner companies grant the highest partner-status to Stemmer. Therefore, Stemmer is for example "Star-Partner" of NetApp, "Gold-Partner" of Microsoft as well as "Gold-Partner" of Cisco Systems.

SND is a medium-sized IT-expert with its own product development, manufacturing and excellent connections to many leading manufacturers. We are partner of many carriers, service providers, data centers, large- and medium-sized customers due to our information- and communication-systems solutions. With highly motivated employees, a lot of ambition and determination SND has established itself in the market as an ISO 9001:2000 certified solutions provider.

About net AG

net AG is a company within the IT-Industry consisting of two strong business segments. In its first segment "IT-Solutions" net AG is positioned as a high-end system and solution provider. Here the focus lies on the conception, realization and support of major international IT-projects in the fields of IP-Communication, Data-Center, Business Software and Physical Security. Furthermore, net AG disposes of a consulting unit that is specialized in the optimization of management and business processes and which often sets the organizational conditions for an improvement of the IT-structures with the results of its consulting projects. In its second segment "Publishing" net AG focuses on the distribution of software solutions. Here net AG offers to software companies a broad solution portfolio that contains the topics of marketing, online distribution, brand management, customer service, distribution & field service as well as production & logistics. 

net AG - founded in 1997 - is acting at 21 sites in 10 countries worldwide through own subsidiaries and agents as well as indirectly through cooperations or retailers. The headquarter is located in Koblenz. The consolidated sales in the financial year 2006/07 amounted to approximately 51m Euro. The fiscal year of net AG ends on September 30th each year. 

 

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