Acquisition

RNS Number : 2641O

RWS Holdings PLC

04 March 2009

 



For immediate release                                                                                                                       4 March 2009

RWS Holdings plc

£2.1m Acquisition of UK Specialist Translations Business

RWS Holdings plc ('RWS', 'the Group'), Europe's leading provider of intellectual property support services (patent translations and technical searches) and technical translations, is pleased to announce the completion of the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Communicare Limited ('Communicare') for a cash consideration of £2.1 million.

The acquisition is in line with RWS's stated strategy to complement organic growth by deploying the Group's cash resources for selective acquisitions which have demonstrable growth prospects and enhance shareholder value.

Communicare specialises in providing high quality translations for the medical and pharmaceutical industries (drug and medical device manufacturers, life sciences companies and particularly contract research organisations). The company was founded in London in 1990 and employs 15 people. Customers are based primarily in the UK, Europe and North America.

Communicare's latest financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2008 show turnover of £2.2 million and adjusted profit before tax of £591,000. Net assets acquired were less than £100,000. The acquisition will be immediately earnings enhancing.

Andrew Brode, Executive Chairman of RWS commented:

'We are pleased to have acquired Communicare which, in line with our acquisition strategy, is an attractive business with good organic growth prospects and will be immediately earnings enhancing. It will further strengthen our position as Europe's leading technical translation provider by consolidating our market share in the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

'We look forward to growing the business with the benefit of the Group's infrastructure and marketing resources, whilst also capitalising on cross selling opportunities across a broadened client base.'

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For further information contact:

RWS Holdings plc

Andrew Brode, Executive Chairman                   01753 480200

Smithfield

Katie Hunt / Rebecca Whitehead                      020 7903 0603

Numis

Stuart Skinner (Nominated Adviser)                   020 7260 1000

James Serjeant (Corporate Broker)

About RWS:

RWS is Europe's leading provider of intellectual property support services (patent translations and technical searches) to the medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, aerospace, defence, automotive, electronics and telecoms industries. RWS also provides specialist technical, legal and financial translation services for areas of industry outside the patent arena. RWS is based in the UK, with offices in Europe, New York, Tokyo and Beijing, and is listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (RWS.L).

Approximately 1,000,000 patent documents are published per annum, 200,000 of which are published in Europe (Source: European Patent Office) and the intellectual property market has shown significant growth in recent years, with patent applications in Europe having doubled over the last ten years.

For further information please visit: www.rws.com.

 

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