Letter of Intent Signed
Cater Barnard PLC
2 September 2002
Embargoed until Monday 2nd September 2002
Cater Barnard plc announces IMX Pharmaceuticals Inc intent merger with
Healthcare Dialog and Azimuth
Cater Barnard plc, the AIM listed Corporate Finance and Business Development
Company, announces that IMX Pharmaceuticals, Inc (OTCBB:IMXI) in which Cater
Barnard plc holds a 57% stake, has signed a legally binding letter of intent to
merge (50/50) with Healthcare Dialog and Azimuth Target Marketing. The combined
company will be named Dialog Group and Mr. Peter DeCrescenzo, CEO of Healthcare
Dialog will be appointed President and CEO.
Healthcare Dialog and Azimuth Target Marketing provide clients with a suite of
integrated healthcare specific campaign creation and management capabilities,
including strategic and creative services, interactive communications services,
patient/consumer target identification, database enhancement and management
services. Clients include Novartis AG, Schering-Plough Corp. and Glaxo.
With a revenue of $6.0 million an a gross profit of $2.7 million for the
calendar year of 2001, Healthcare Dialog and Azimuth Targeted Marketing are
expected to follow on 2001's success. Similarly, IMX's US and UK operations
have seen an increase of revenue by 312% from $928 thousand to $2.9 million in
2001 and by 288% from $343 thousand to $992 thousand in 2002. The combined
companies are expected to show sales of $15 million and $2 million of net income
in 2003.
Stephen Dean, Chairman of Cater Barnard plc, commented: 'We are excited about
the fantastic opportunities that the combination of these successful businesses
will produce for their clients, customers, and shareholders.'
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
Stephen Dean Adrian Stecyk Justine Howarth/Ana Ribeiro
Cater Barnard plc Griffin Securities, Inc Parkgreen Communications
Tel: 0870 0660830 Tel: 001 212 509 9500 Tel: 020 7287 5544
Notes to editors
IMX is a marketing services company that provides direct mail and telemarketing
services through its wholly owned subsidiaries ThinkDirectMarketing, Inc. (TDMI)
and Findstar, plc. TDMI designs, develops and distributes online products and
services that automate and streamline direct marketing processes and provides
marketing and sales solutions for customer acquisition and customer retention
for small- to mid-size companies. TDMI has developed a scaleable and
complementary line of data management products and professional direct mail
services. TDMI is headquartered in Stamford, CT with offices in Colorado and
California. Findstar is a sales led organization with telemarketing capabilities
currently responsible for the sale and distribution of Panda Software anti-virus
software and products in the UK and provides a platform for TDMI's launch into
the UK and Europe.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, please visit the following websites: imxi.com;
thinkdirectmarketing.com; pandasoftware.co.uk. ThinkDirectMarketing, Inc and
Findstar plc are wholly owned subsidiaries of IMX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC BB:
IMXI).
Healthcare Dialog, Inc. provides some of the preeminent healthcare companies in
the world with a suite of integrated healthcare-specific campaign creation and
management capabilities. Specifically, these include strategic and creative
services, interactive communication services, patient/consumer target
identification, and database enhancement and management services. Combining
these services in seamless programs, it creates, launches and continually
upgrades a wide range of targeted and highly-customized direct and interactive
marketing campaigns. This enables clients to establish and build more valuable
and longer lasting relationships with physicians, patients and consumers over a
broad array of permission-based contact points, including Internet Websites,
opt-in e-mails, on-demand print advertising, direct mail and telemarketing.
Current and past clients include global pharmaceutical leaders such as Novartis
AG, Schering-Plough Corp, Glaxo, Boehringer-Ingelheim Forest Laboratories, and
leading healthcare service providers such as Merck-Medco and Accurian.
Working on a project and retainer basis, in each case partnering with numerous
client-side brand teams and sales force management teams, it deals with both
mass market and niche client brands, including such household names as Allegra
(R) and Coppertone(R). As a result of its data enhancement, in-house content
development and media production capabilities, Healthcare Dialog has also been
asked to assist non-healthcare industry companies such as Assurant, Progressive
Insurance and Marriott Vacation Clubs.
Biographies
Peter DeCrescenzo
Prior to forming Healthcare Dialog, Peter (52), was senior vice president and
partner at MD Direct, a healthcare marketing communications company specializing
in direct marketing to physicians and consumers, where he developed Patient
Select, the first and largest direct-to-consumer database of its kind. Carlson
Marketing later acquired MD Direct. Peter's healthcare marketing career began
at Sterling Drugs, where he held positions in sales, promotional services, and
group brand management. After 14 years with Sterling Drugs, he joined American
Home Products Corporation as director of marketing for Ayerst Labs. From
American Home Products, he joined Sandoz Pharmaceuticals as product marketing
director. Peter has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare
industry.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange