ARTA.L Regulatory News (ARTA)

11 Feb 2008 07:01

Artilium PLC11 February 2008 11 February 2008 Artilium plc Announcement of Acquisition Artilium Acquires Location-Based Software Innovator Trisent Communications Artilium plc (LSE/AIM: ARTA) ("Artilium" or "the Company"), a European leader inadvanced telecommunications software is pleased to announce the acquisition ofTrisent Communications Limited ("Trisent"). Trisent is a specialist inLocation-Based Services ("LBS") technology that enables mobile network operatorsto deliver services to subscribing customers based on the geographic location oftheir mobile phone. The Directors believe that the Location-Based Services market represents anemerging and fast growing segment in the communications arena. According toresearch from Gartner Group, the total number of subscriptions to LBS in WesternEurope, North America, Asia Pacific and Japan is expected to grow from 7m in2006 to 298m in 2011.* According to Strategy Analytics, in North America alone,end-user spending on location aware mobile services is expected to grow from$110m at the end of 2006 to $2.2bn by the end of 2011**. The Directors believe that Trisent's technology will effectively complementArtilium's own ARTA Service Delivery Platform to allow operators to rate, chargeand deliver an array of services which combine location, presence, commerce andsocial networks, among other criteria. As a result, the Company believes it ispositioned to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the evolvingmarket segment. Trisent's technology provides network operators with the ability to offerreal-time tracking services similar to GPS but without the need for satellitesor the installation of other costly equipment on the network. The technologyworks by using standard phone handsets which the Directors believe offersseveral additional advantages over GPS. These include significant cost savings,lower battery requirements, increased indoor coverage (an advantage for socialnetworking applications) and 'always on' status (whereas GPS can be turned off).This new technology, when added to the ARTA platform, will allow Artilium tooffer a wide range of new functionality to new and existing customers. Trisent is based in Dunfermline, Scotland and was founded by Dr Gordon PoveyPhD, inventor of Trisent's core Tri-Cell Intelligent Location System, who willremain with the Company as part of the terms of the acquisition. Trisent hasbeen funded to date by Sigma Capital Group plc. Trisent currently has a licensing agreement for its solutions with Max Telecom:a fixed and wireless telecommunications operator in Bulgaria. Max Telecom iscurrently using Trisent's solutions to aid workforce management and fleettracking and will expand this to offer mobile customers a wide range oflocation-aware services including personal security, lone worker protection andservices industry employee deployment. The consideration for the acquisition is £1.7m, which will be satisfied via acash element of £460,000 and via the issue of 1,240,000 Artilium shares toTrisent shareholders. Of this amount, the issue of 301,875 Artilium shares willbe deferred dependent on the achievement of certain prescribed developmentmilestones. The consideration shares are all subject to orderly marketundertakings. The number of Artilium shares in issue on completion of theacquisition (i.e. prior to the issue of any deferred element) will be58,787,925. Application has been made for 938,125 new ordinary shares to beadmitted to trading on AIM. It is expected that admission will take place on 14February 2008. The new ordinary shares to be issued for the acquisition rankpari passu in all respects with the existing issued share capital. As reported in its unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31 August2007, Trisent reported a profit before tax for the period of £24,142 and had netassets at the period end of £64,541. Announcing the acquisition Artilium Chief Executive Officer, Robert Marcus,said: "Mobile presence is the most innovative revenue generating opportunity fornetwork operators today. By combining location with presence and status,consumers can see the availability of the people they want to reach, mobilenetwork operators can provide contextually aware services, and brands can betterpersonalize mobile experiences. Add commerce to the mix and the vision andmonetization of location-based services is truly realized." Confirming the value and application of Trisent's technology KrassimirStoitcheff, CEO of Max Telecom, commented: "In our initial roll-out of Trisent technology in the business-to-businessmarket, we have realised a cost saving of up to 25 times compared with GPSfleet tracking equivalents. We are very pleased with the Trisent technology andhave hugely satisfied customers using it. We are excited about theopportunities for future services, revenues and the growth ahead." Dr Gordon Povey PhD, founder of Trisent welcomed the announcement of theacquisition and the combination of Trisent and Artilium technologies: "I look forward to bringing Trisent's location awareness technology toArtilium's new wave of mobile unified communications services." * Gartner Group Dataquest Insight: Location- Based Services Subscriber andRevenue Forecast, 2006-2011 29 January 2008 ** Strategy Analytics: North America Consumer Location Based Services (LBS)Forecast. 3 August 2007 Enquiries: Financial Dynamics Tel: +44 (0)20 7831 3113Harriet Keen/Matt Dixon Deloitte Corporate Finance (NOMAD) Tel: +44 (0)20 7936 3000Jonathan Hinton/David Smith Panmure Gordon & Co. Tel: +44 (0)20 7459 3600Dominic Morley/Giles Stewart Artilium plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7402 7268Chris Ogle About Artilium: Artilium unifies mobile communications and cleverly connects people in motionwith easy access to the knowledge and commerce they need to live balanced andconsidered lives. Artilium develops software in the heart of the telecoms network. ARTA, thecompany's IMS-compliant service delivery platform, first converges and thenintelligently controls networks to enable fast, efficient deployment andmonetization of innovative, differentiated mobile unified communicationssolutions for operators. Founded in 1995 and recognised for its engineering talent and unique combinationof IT and telecom expertise, Artilium has completed more than 40 installationsserving tens of millions of end-users in 11 countries. Artilium plc is apublicly listed company on AIM: the Alternative Investment Market of the LondonStock Exchange (LSE/AIM: ARTA). For more information, please visit:www.artilium.com. Ends This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange