DGAP-News: QSC AG / Key word(s): Acquisition
QSC acquires INFO AG and strengthens its ICT competence
02.05.2011 / 20:30
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QSC acquires INFO AG and strengthens its ICT competence
- Agreement enables QSC to acquire 58.98 percent of the shares of IT
services provider INFO AG
- INFO AG's IT Outsourcing and IT Consulting lines of business to
accelerate QSC's evolution into a provider of ICT services
Cologne, May 2, 2011. Cologne-based QSC AG (QSC) has today entered into a
purchase agreement with MZ Erste Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, in
Hamburg, a major shareholder of INFO Gesellschaft für Informationssysteme
AG, in Hamburg (INFO AG), to acquire 58.98 percent of the 4,000,000 total
shares issued by INFO AG at a price of EUR 14.35 per share. This means that
MZ Erste Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH is thus selling all of the
INFO AG shares it holds.
Execution of the purchase agreement is still subject to anti-trust
approval. QSC will issue a public tender offer for those shares of INFO AG
that are not held by MZ Erste Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH.
INFO AG is an independent provider of services for IT Outsourcing and IT
Consulting in Germany. Its portfolio includes the planning, implementation
and operation of challenging IT solutions for small and mid-size companies,
both nationally as well as internationally. INFO AG has three data centers
of its own in Hamburg and Oberhausen with total floor space of 6,000 square
meters. Furthermore, INFO AG is an SAP Systems House and a Microsoft Gold
Certified Partner.
Market potential for QSC is increasing greatly
With the acquistion of INFO AG, QSC is complementing and broadening its
existing portfolio to include additional IT competence, thus considerably
accelerating its transformation from a telecommunications provider into a
provider of ICT services. Only just last December, QSC had acquired
Nuremberg-based Housing and Hosting specialist IP Partner AG. With a total
workforce of nearly 1,300 people today, the new corporate group is able to
offer small and mid-size business customers a comprehensive spectrum of ICT
services: From complete voice-data communication to Housing and Hosting, IT
outsourcing right through to IT consulting. With this move, QSC is
sustainably strengthening its positioning as an independent mid-size
provider of ICT services for small and mid-size business customers.
QSC co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bernd Schlobohm explains:
'QSC and INFO AG make for an outstanding fit. Both are founder-led
companies, both focus on small and mid-size enterprises and both embrace
long-term business relationships.' Schlobohm goes on to stress: 'With the
new ICT portfolio, the market potential for QSC is increasing greatly. We
will be exploiting this potential. I look forward to working together with
the entire INFO AG team.'
2011 guidance reiterated
QSC is financing this acquisition from both liquid assets as well as from
its current free cash flow. Moreover, the company additionally has at its
disposal a credit line in the amount of EUR 50 million, which has not been
fully utilized.
Upon takeover of the majority shareholding in INFO AG, QSC will fully
consolidate INFO AG. Even following this acquisition, QSC anticipates
stronger profitability and net worth for the full 2011 fiscal year, as well
as a concrete rise in free cash flow to between EUR 35 and EUR 45 million.
During the current fiscal year, the new subsidiary's positive free cash
flow will be offset by additional expenditures for the INFO AG transaction.
The company's stronger financial position and profitability will serve as
the foundation for QSC's continued plans to distribute its first dividend
for the current fiscal year.
QSC - ICT solutions for small and mid-size enterprises
QSC AG, Cologne, is a service provider for voice and data communication, as
well as the ICT services that build upon them. Established in 1997, the
company has been focusing on small and mid-size business customers. QSC is
the first provider to operate an Open Access platform, which unites a wide
range of broadband technologies to offer national and international site
networking, including Managed Services. QSC additionally supplies its
customers and distribution partners with a comprehensive product portfolio
that can be modularly adapted to every need. QSC was the first provider in
Germany to build its own Next Generation Network (NGN), and therefore
enjoys long years of experience in connection with IP-based telephony
solutions, in particular. QSC employs a workforce of approximately 700
people and has been listed on the TecDAX index since 2004.
Queries to:
QSC AG
Arne Thull
Investor Relations
Phone: +49 221 6698-724
Fax: +49 221 6698-009
E-mail: invest@qsc.de
Internet: www.qsc.de
End of Corporate News
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02.05.2011 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
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Language: English
Company: QSC AG
Mathias-Brüggen-StraÃe 55
50829 Köln
Deutschland
Phone: +49-221-6698-724
Fax: +49-221-6698-009
E-mail: invest@qsc.de
Internet: www.qsc.de
ISIN: DE0005137004
WKN: 513700
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover,
München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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122609 02.05.2011
DGAP-News: QSC acquires INFO AG and strengthens its ICT competence
| Source: EQS Group AG