Acxiom Continues European Growth With Proposed Acquisition of Consodata S.A.
02 March 2004 - 2:33AM
PR Newswire (US)
Acxiom Continues European Growth With Proposed Acquisition of
Consodata S.A. LONDON and LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, March 1
/PRNewswire/ -- - Deal would include Consodata Germany, formerly
known as pan-adress Acxiom(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) today
announced that it has extended an offer to acquire the Consodata
companies based in England, France, Spain and Germany from
Turin-based Seat P.G., one of the world's leading multi-platform
directories companies. Seat has granted Acxiom exclusivity
concerning the proposed transaction and is submitting the
transaction to the Works Council of Consodata S.A., the labour
representative body of Consodata, as required by French law. Under
the terms of the offer, Seat P.G. will retain ownership of the
Consodata operations based in Italy and the U.S. The Consodata
European operations own and operate some of the most comprehensive
consumer lifestyle databases in Europe. Acxiom's acquisition, when
completed, will represent its second recent acquisition of the
European operations of a consumer lifestyle and behavioural
information business. In January, Acxiom completed the purchase of
the Claritas European operations based in England, France, Germany,
The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Poland. Acxiom Company Leader
Charles D. Morgan said that by consolidating the companies'
comprehensive data assets and excellent client service capabilities
with Acxiom's technological innovation, Acxiom will be even more
prepared to help companies doing business in Europe improve their
marketing effectiveness and customer acquisition results. "The
Consodata acquisition will be another step forward in our strategy
of providing a full complement of services for businesses wanting
to succeed in the pan-European market," Morgan added. Morgan said
Acxiom, the Consodata European operations and Claritas Europe are
accustomed to serving many of the larger, more successful global
companies. "As a single company, we will be better positioned to
respond to our clients' growing multi-national marketing efforts as
well as support companies of all sizes and geographies who are
looking to grow their business in Europe," he said. The total net
consideration paid by Acxiom for the proposed transaction will be
EUR30 million (approximately US$37.5 million) in cash. The EUR30
million net consideration includes the acquisition of the German
operation formally known as pan-adress and excludes the Consodata
Italian business, which will bebought back by Seat P.G. Acxiom
expects the transaction to be slightly accretive for fiscal 2005.
The acquired Consodata companies are expected to add approximately
EUR50 million to EUR55 million (approximately US$63 million to
US$69 million) to Acxiom's revenue for fiscal 2005, which begins
April 1, 2004. This will increase Acxiom's anticipated annual
European revenue for fiscal 2005 to approximately US$230 million to
US$235 million. The transaction is expected to close during the
fiscal quarter beginning April 1, 2004. Consodata's clients include
some of the world's most successful companies in the financial
services, retail and media industries. The Consodata data
acquisition and sales offices being purchased by Acxiom are in
Kingston, England; Lyon, Lille and Paris, France; Munich, Germany;
and Barcelona, Spain. Consodata products will be re-branded with
the Acxiom name. Very much like Acxiom's InfoBase(R) products in
the U.S. and the recently acquired Claritas Europe products,
Consodata's products provide consumer lifestyle and behavioural
information necessary for effective marketing. About Acxiom Acxiom
Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) integrates data, services and technology
to create and deliver customer and information management solutions
for many of the largest, most respected companies in the world. The
core components of Acxiom's innovative solutions are Customer Data
Integration (CDI) technology, data, database services, IT
outsourcing, consulting and analytics, and privacy leadership.
Founded in 1969, Acxiom is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas,
with locations throughout the United States and Europe, and in
Australia and Japan. For more information, visit www.acxiom.com.
Acxiom and InfoBase are registered trademarks of Acxiom
Corporation. This release contains forward-looking statements that
are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially; such statements include but
are notnecessarily limited to the following: 1) that the
transactions are expected to be slightly accretive for fiscal 2005;
2) that the anticipated revenue from the companies acquired is
estimated to be approximately EUR50 million to EUR55 million
(approximately US$63 million to US$69 million); 3) that Acxiom's
annual European revenue for fiscal 2005 is expected to be
approximately US$230 million to US$235 million; 4) that the
transaction will close in the first fiscal quarter of fiscal 2005;
and 5) that the acquired companies will be successfully integrated
into Acxiom's existing business, including the recently acquired
Claritas European businesses. The following are important factors,
among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially
from these forward-looking statements: The possibility that certain
contracts may not be closed or closed within the anticipated time
frames; the possibility that certain contracts may not generate the
anticipated revenue or profitability; the possibility that economic
or other conditions might lead to a reduction in demand for the
Company's products and services; the possibility that the current
economic slowdown may worsen and/or persist for an unpredictable
period of time; the possibility that economic conditions will not
be as expected; the possibility that significant customers may
experience extreme, severe economic difficulty; the possibility
that the fair value of certain assets of the Company may not be
equal to the carrying value of those assets now or in future time
periods; the possibility that sales cycles may lengthen; the
continued ability to attract and retain qualified technical and
leadership associates and the possible loss of associates to other
organizations; the ability to properly motivate the sales force and
other associates of the Company; the ability to achieve cost
reductions and avoid unanticipated costs; the continued
availability of credit upon satisfactory terms and conditions; the
introduction of competent, competitive products, technologies or
services by other companies; potential pricing pressure due to
market conditions and/or competitive products and services; changes
in consumer or business information industries and markets; the
Company's ability to protect proprietary information and technology
or to obtain necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms;
the difficulties encountered when entering new markets or
industries; changes in the legislative, accounting, regulatory and
consumer environments affecting the Company's business, including
but not limited to litigation, legislation, regulations and customs
relating to the Company's ability to collect, manage, aggregate and
use data; the possibility that data suppliers might withdraw data
from the Company, leading to the Company's inability to provide
certain products and services; the entry into short-term contracts
vs. long-term contracts, which could affect the predictability of
the Company's revenues; the possibility that the amount of adhoc,
volume based and project work will not be as expected; the
potential loss of data center capacity or interruption of
telecommunication links or power sources; postal rate increases
that could lead to reduced volumes of business; the possibility
that customers may cancel or modify their agreements with the
Company; the potential disruption of the services of the United
States Postal Service, their global counterparts and other delivery
systems; the successful integration of any acquired businesses; and
other competitive factors. With respect to the providing of
products or services in Europe and elsewhere outside the Company's
primary base of operations in the U.S., all of the above factors
are applicable, along with the difficulty of doing business in
numerous sovereign jurisdictions due to differences in culture,
laws and regulations. Other factors are disclosed from time to time
in the Company's periodic reports and registration statements filed
with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Acxiom
believes that it has the product and technology offerings,
facilities, associates and competitive and financial resources for
continued business success, but future revenues, costs, margins and
profits are all influenced by a number of factors, including those
discussed above, all of which are inherently difficult to forecast.
Acxiom undertakes no obligation to update the information contained
in this press release, any conference call, or any other
forward-looking statement. DATASOURCE: Acxiom Corporation European
Media Contact: Katy Ludditt, Band & Brown Communications,
+44(0)207-419-7000, Media Contact: Jonathan Portis, Acxiom Public
Relations, +1-501-252-6284, Financial Relations Contact: Robert S.
Bloom, Financial Relations Leader, Acxiom Corporation,
+1-501-252-1321, EACXM, GACXM
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