Gresham Computing PLC
10 December 2001
For immediate release 10 December 2001
Gresham Computing plc
DISPOSAL AND TRADING UPDATE
Update on the disposal of SIM Group
Gresham Computing plc (Gresham) today announces that following the contract
for the disposal of SIM Group (SIM) to SQS Software Quality Systems AG (SQS)
in May 2001, agreement has been reached over the turnover achieved by SIM for
the six and twelve month periods ending 31 October 2001.
As part of the conditions of sale to SQS final payment terms are dependent on
SIM's turnover for the six and twelve month periods ending 31 October 2001.
The Tranche 1 Agreement for the disposal of 50 per cent of the issued share
capital of SIM plus one controlling share was completed on 25 June 2001 for an
initial consideration of £5,250,000 with further proceeds of up to £750,000
dependent on the achievement of certain turnover targets. As a result of the
achievement of £10,288,000 turnover by SIM in the year ending 31 October 2001,
an amount of £600,000 will be released to Gresham from escrow. This will
increase the proceeds from the Tranche 1 Agreement to £5,850,000.
Under the terms of the Tranche 2 Agreement Gresham will dispose of the
remaining issued share capital of SIM on the earlier of the date of any SQS
initial public offering and 30 June 2002. The turnover for the six months
ending 31 October 2001 has been agreed at £5,608,000. As a result the proceeds
under the Tranche 2 Agreement will comprise of two payment streams:
1) £6,912,000 payable at the option of Gresham in cash or bonds convertible
into SQS shares or a combination of cash and bonds. This amount is due for
settlement on completion of the Tranche 2 Agreement on the earlier of 30 June
2002 or any SQS initial public offering; and
2) Ten percent of the revenue achieved by SIM in the year ending 31 October
2002. This amount will be payable to Gresham in cash by 30 December 2002.
Trading Update
Trading conditions in the ongoing businesses of Gresham remain challenging.
However, Gresham continues to develop and invest in its software and solutions
businesses. The storage area networking business continues to develop and
investments have been made to support the distribution agreement with IBM
Tivoli announced in June 2001. The benefits of this agreement are only likely
to start to impact revenue in the fourth calendar quarter.
Investment has continued in the development of the Cable & Wireless Real Time
Nostro service, announced in October this year, both in terms of product
development and relationship building with banks. The service is designed to
facilitate real time information relating to banks' Nostro Accounts using
Cable & Wireless's global hosting and telecommunication services and is
expected to be commercially available during Summer 2002.
The directors consider that these market opportunities provide Gresham with a
platform for significant potential future growth.
For further information, please contact:
Gresham Computing plc 01489 555 522
Andrew Walton-Green, Chief Executive Officer
Weber Shandwick Square Mile 020 7601 1000
Edward Macquisten/Sally Lewis
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.