GBO.L Regulatory News (GBO)

14 Dec 2007 07:00

Globo plc14 December 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 14 December 2007 GLOBO plc ADMISSION TO AIM and FIRST DAY OF DEALINGS GLOBO plc ("Globo" or "the Company"; LSE-AIM: GBO), a leader in the Informationand Communications Technology market in Greece, is pleased to announce itsAdmission to AIM and the commencement of dealings in its shares. Key points: • Globo has completed its IPO by way of a reverse takeover of Israeli Acquisitor I plc, a clean 'shell' company previously quoted on PLUS Markets. • Based in Athens, Globo is a market leader in the Greek Information and Communications Technology ("ICT") market, providing integrated e-business and telecom software products and related services. • Its markets include private sector SMEs and larger organisations, government and other public sector organisations in Greece. Sales are also made in a number of other EU countries. • The bulk of its revenues are generated from branded products based on its own intellectual property and sold both on a licence model and as Software as a Service (S.a.a.S). • Growth is being driven by the rapid increase in demand for broadband internet applications in Greece. Globo has achieved significant growth in revenue and profit over the last three years with revenues for the first six months of 2007 up 95 per cent. • Globo has raised GBP 3.1m by way of a placing with investors in the UK and Greece to fund expansion within its domestic market and to enter new markets in neighbouring countries in South East Europe. Costis Papadimitrakopoulos, Founder and Managing Director of Globo, commented: "We are delighted to have completed our IPO on AIM. The funds raised will enableus to implement our strategy of rapid and profitable growth over the next fewyears." Details of the Placing: +----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------+|Placing price | 20 pence|+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------+|Total number of new ordinary shares placed on behalf of | 15,589,530||the Company | |+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------+|Number of ordinary shares in issue following the | 130,589,530||acquisition and placing | |+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------+|Percentage of enlarged issued share capital represented by| 11.9%||the placing shares | |+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------+|Gross proceeds of the placing to be received by the | GBP 3.1 million||Company | |+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------+|Estimated net proceeds of the placing receivable by the | GBP 2.2 million||Company | |+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------+|Market capitalisation of the Company at the placing price | GBP 26.1 million|+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------+ NCB Stockbrokers Limited is Nominated Adviser and joint broker and Insinger deBeaufort is joint broker. CONTACTS GloboBrett Miller, Non-executive Chairman +44 (0) 20-7584-3663Costis Papadimitrakopoulos, Managing Director +30 210-646-6008Dimitris Gryparis, Finance Director +30 210-646-6008 Bankside +44 (0) 20-7367-8888Simon Bloomfield or Steve Liebmann NCB Stockbrokers Limited (Nomad & Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 7071 5200Christopher Caldwell or Julius Bozzino Insinger de Beaufort (Joint Broker) + 44 (0) 20 7190 7031Chris Theis INFORMATION ON GLOBO PLC INTRODUCTION GLOBO plc has been Admitted to AIM by way of a reverse takeover by GloboTechnologies S.A. ("the Globo Group") of Israeli Acquisitor I, a company whichwas incorporated on 13 July 2005 and admitted to trading on the PLUS Market on 5September 2005 as a 'clean shell' company, having raised £400,000 beforeexpenses via an offer for subscription of shares. On Admission, the name of theenlarged group has been changed to GLOBO plc. Globo has established itself as one of the market leaders in the Greek ICTmarket. It provides e-business and telecom software products and relatedservices to the private and governmental sectors in Greece as well as developingand operating broadband wired and wireless networks. It has developed to becomeone of the largest e-business software vendors in Greece. Globo was formed to exploit the growing level of internet and IT penetration inGreece, which the Directors considered to have lagged behind much of the rest ofEurope. The Directors believe that Globo is currently one of the largeste-business companies in Greece and is well positioned to continue building uponits strength within the market. As part of Globo's ambitions to increase itsproduct offering, market its services throughout Greece and enhance itsreputation in the software market, it has completed its Admission to AIM and thePlacing. In the future, it is the intention of the Directors to explore aninternational expansion programme into markets neighbouring Greece. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND Globo was founded in 1997 by Konstantinos Papadimitrakopoulos and isheadquartered today in Halandri, a suburb of Athens. Globo began its operationsby developing a portfolio of proprietary technology and constructing softwarepackages designed to facilitate efficient administration and enhance the ITcapabilities of local businesses and public sector facilities, which wereperceived by the Directors of Globo to be less developed than those of similarorganisations in other European cities. Since incorporation, Globo has expanded upon its service offering and hasdeveloped valuable IPR assets in the form of its e-business and broadband accesstechnologies and has also developed proprietary software platforms using bothits own in-house capabilities and the contracted services of third partytechnology providers. Globo also purchases technology solutions and servicesthat can be integrated into its own products. These integrated softwaresolutions and related services are sold to private and Governmentalorganisations, primarily on a project basis, through sales developed directly byGlobo's own personnel. In addition, Globo has won contracts from large corporateclients and works closely with solution providers and sales channel partners towin contracts from the Greek Government. As a result of the proliferation of broadband internet provision in Greece, theDirectors perceived an opportunity in the sector for the offering of a hostedsoftware service. Accordingly, Globo transformed existing products into a hostedapplication service which, combined with traditional telecom services such astelephony and internet, is designed to be attractive to SMEs. Profitel wasformed in October 2005 by Konstantinos Papadmitrakopoulos with the objective oftargeting the perceived market demand for an entirely integrated businesscommunications service provider. The aim of Profitel is to attract corporateclients by providing Globo's software services together with broadband telecomservices. Profitel buys Globo's software applications in S.a.a.S form togetherwith central infrastructure services and integrates them with third partytelecom services. The resulting bundles of software solutions are marketed toSMEs and captive markets such as hotels, cafes, restaurants and marinas. Today,Globo owns 100 per cent. of Profitel. The Directors believe that a large portion of Globo's success stems from itsproprietary e-business applications and broadband access technology platforms(described in greater detail below) which they are able to then combine, ifnecessary, with other third party technology solutions to form products that aretailored to the clients' needs. Profitel provides S.a.a.S. solutions to smallerenterprises based on the Globo Group's own IP resulting in a package that ismore affordable. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Globo develops its own software products. Globo's development processes are ISO9001-2000 certified and a group of 11 skilled developers are engaged in theproduction, maintenance and support of the software products. Additionally,Globo tailors its products to clients' needs using an additional team of 19contractor technicians and developers. Globo's products are used by private and public organisations that include morethan 600 corporate and SME clients and more than 60 public sector clients. Theyare also sold through 14 value added resellers to a large number of indirect customers. Globo's direct private sector customers include Xerox, National Bank ofGreece, Velti, Group Marinopoulos and the University of Brighton. Globo's publicsector customers in Greece include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministryof National Education and Religious Affairs, the Municipalities of Halandri andof Maroussi and the Hellenic parliament. Globo's e-Business platform, as well as its e-Commerce and broadband accesstechnology products have been successfully marketed and operated in Greece, UK,Ireland, France, Belgium, Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain and Italy. The three components of the Globo Group's key software revenue stream areoutlined below: • products and services that facilitate e-business; • products and services that enable access to broadband; and • resale of third-party goods The first two product groups, the e-business and broadband access, are offeredas a software licence or S.a.a.S. Composition of the current product offering (Source: Globo) +-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------+|Stream | Product Group |+-----------------+------------------------------+-----------------------------+| |E-Business Product Group |Broadband Access Technologies|| | |Product Group |+-----------------+------------------------------+-----------------------------+|Software |A |C || | | ||(Licence model) |1. CITRON Internet Server |Internet Hotel || | | || |2. CITRON Intranet Server | || | | || |3. CITRON CRM Server | || | | || |4. CITRON Document Server | || | | || |5. CITRON Indexing Server | || | | || |6. CITRON ERP | || | | || |7. MARKETLINE E-Commerce Suite| |+-----------------+------------------------------+-----------------------------+|S.a.a.S. |B |D || | | || |T-COM |WiPLUS || | | || |1. e-Marketing | || | | || |2. e-Hosting | || | | || |3. e-Presence | || | | || |4. e-Commerce | || | | || |5. e-Collaboration | || | | || |6. e-Working | |+-----------------+------------------------------+-----------------------------+ The products and services illustrated above comprise the Globo Group's entireportfolio of products as at the date of this document. The following providesfurther information on how the products are categorised and the functions thateach product offering is designed to perform: A E-BUSINESS PRODUCT GROUP - Software (licence model) E-business software product revenues derive from the sale of licences of thefollowing Globo proprietary software: 1. CITRON Internet Server A complete Enterprise Content Management Platform for, amongst others, internetsites/portals, intranet content sites and online catalogues. The Directorsbelieve that the CITRON Internet Server is a leading commercially establishedEnterprise Content Management Platform in Greece. 2. CITRON Intranet Server A complete Intranet/Extranet platform related to corporate informationapplications, knowledge management and communication. 3. CITRON CRM Server A complete platform for managing customer relations. The package provides toolsfor managing contacts, prospects, forecasts, promotion, completion and supportof sales. 4. CITRON Document Server Offers electronic document archiving and provides easy access, search, sharingand management of all such material in an organisation. 5. CITRON Indexing Server Reduces operational costs by providing a centralised search facility that aimsto reveal hidden information in files, databases and the web. It is a softwareplatform for filing information into various file formats. 6. CITRON Workflow Server A software platform that allows an organisation to define workflows fordifferent types of jobs in such a way that several processes are automated andmonitored. 7. CITRON ERP A business management system that integrates all facets of a business. It is atotal solution for managing the resources of an enterprise, includingaccounting, sales, production, warehouse, assets, reporting, MIS and personnel. 8. MARKETLINE e-Commerce Suite The product is used in B2C or B2B applications. The user builds and manages itsown e-shop. The set-up and maintenance of the e-shop is performed withMarketline Manager online. The application ensures high speed management andsecurity in data transmission and supports pre-fixed templates of e-shopappearances, foreign currencies and is available in 15 different languages. The Directors believe that the competitive advantage of the Citron e-businessproduct family is the ease of use and integration with existing systems withinall types of organisations. Furthermore, due to the common operating core, theCitron e-business product family provides the ability of gradual and scaleableapproach to fit all customer future needs. B E-BUSINESS PRODUCT GROUP - S.a.a.S. T-COM T-COM is a subscription based, software-driven, telecommunications serviceavailable solely to business customers through a fully customisable, Globodesigned, internet portal. Customers can arrange fixed telephony and internetcapabilities as well as more advanced services including the mass distributionof SMS, email or fax marketing messages and the construction of hostede-commerce websites or hosted business intranets. The services combined in thecurrent T-COM package consist of: - e-Marketing (Mail, SMS, fax marketing services) - e-Hosting (Web, Mail, DNS, domain name registration) - e-Presence (Several versions of web builders and content - managementsolutions) - e-Commerce (B2C & B2B applications) - e-Collaboration (Intranets, document management, workflow) - e-Working (CRM applications) T-COM takes advantage of the current pan-European broadband expansion in orderto offer a complete communication solution to SMEs. Each SME can enjoy a fullset of business communication solutions offered as a "pay-as-you-go" service bya single provider, which is billed in one invoice without any prepaymentlimitations and usage restrictions. T-COM has demonstrated its value within theGlobo portfolio of products by directly attracting a number of large telecomoperators in Greece as new customers. The Directors believe that the T-COM portal is a market leader in combining sucha breadth of services with a convenient monitoring and payment programme. C BROADBAND ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES - Software (licence model) Broadband access technologies allow customers to access broadband as opposed tofunctioning as an internet service provider or being a direct facilitator ofaccess to the internet. Internet Hotel Internet Hotel is a complete platform used to provide broadband internetconnectivity to users in hotels and restaurants. The Internet Hotel solution canbe adjusted to reflect the size and the needs of each customer and has themarketing advantage of offering an additional revenue source for the targetlocation. The following summarises the key attributes of Internet Hotel: - room and public access networking for transmitting data at high speeds; - user access rights management; - total system transparency and advanced security features to the end user; multi level client billing for internet usage; - the hotel's central connectivity to internet supporting routing, firewall, load balancing and fall over thus enabling the level and continuity of service; - the embedded content management system Hotel Portal; and - fast installation and cost effectiveness. The Directors believe Internet Hotel is the only Greek product in its categorythat competes directly with the products offered by international companies suchas Cisco and Nomadix. D BROADBAND ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES - S.a.a.S WiPLUS Following the successful introduction of Internet Hotel, a niche market wasidentified in the provision of the wireless broadband infrastructures desired byhotels and other venues without requiring the expense of acquiring the hardwareand software licences themselves. WiPLUS is a broadband access service. Developed by Globo, it is able to offersecure broadband internet connection and ease of use to customers and venueowners. It is implemented in modules, which are integrated with vendor IT/telecom hardware, and enables operation of a network of Hot-Spots with nogeographic or size limitations. Globo engineers install the requiredinfrastructure at the clients' venue whereafter the venue's guests may thenpurchase access cards in pre-determined time denominations from the venue owner.These access cards are acquired by the venue owner from Globo at a discount totheir face value. WiPLUS offers a packaged business opportunity for Globo's existing and potentialbusiness partners and is supported by marketing and promotional material. E. THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTION Globo is also often requested to provide hardware or other third party goods aspart of its contracts. As an example, in the support of sales of the CITRONDocument Server, Globo is the sole supplier in Greece of Zeutschel's scanningtechnology equipment. SALES AND MARKETING The Globo Group generates revenue through the direct and indirect sale ofproducts and services to the private and governmental sectors as well as sellingT-COM to SMEs and WiPLUS to captive markets. Globo has allocated a sales manager for each of these sales areas, as well asaccount managers assigned to clients. A dedicated team develops and deliversmarketing programs to support channel distributors. In addition, Globo usesresellers to promote its products throughout Greece. The marketing team prepares market research and marketing material, plansproduct launches, manages press coverage and other public relations events,identifies potential customers, attends trade shows, seminars and conferences,establishes relationships with industry analysts and maintains Globo's website. Marketing efforts are targeted at: - developing and supporting programmes to enhance customer loyalty; - building brand awareness through press coverage and industry publications; - developing new market segments and generating sales leads; - producing and maintaining marketing collateral and sales tools; and - developing and supporting programs with key partners. Differing sales and marketing strategies are utilised for private and publicsector customers: Public Sector Opportunities in the public sector in Greece are normally announced by openCalls for Tender ("CfTs"). Globo reviews journals of CfTs on a weekly basis. Private Sector Sales are targeted in the private sector through three key channels: - account managers making direct approaches to customers to gauge their interest and needs. Solutions are suggested and an offer is then made; - customers passed to Globo through partner firms in the IT industry; - through government co-financing programmes. FINANCIAL INFORMATION The following table summarises key financial data for the Globo Group. +-------------------+-----------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+| | Six months|Year ended| Six months| Year ended| Year ended|| | to| | to 30/6/| | || | |31/12/2006| 2006| 31/12/2005| 31/12/2004|| | 30/6/2007| | | | |+-------------------+-----------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+| | •'000| •'000| •'000| •'000| •'000|+-------------------+-----------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+| | Audited| Audited| Unaudited| Audited| Audited|+-------------------+-----------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Revenue | 4,093| 6,627| 2,089| 6,143| 5,102|+-------------------+-----------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Operating income/ | 794| 1,541| (132)| 409| 405||(loss) | | | | | |+-------------------+-----------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Profit / (loss) | 400| 1,035| (375)| 49| 114||before tax | | | | | |+-------------------+-----------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Profit / (loss) for| | | | | ||the | | | | | || | 336| 929| (358)| 295| 434||year/period | | | | | |+-------------------+-----------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ Globo has shown significant growth in revenue and profitability over the last 3years. In addition, these numbers do not include any contribution from Profitel,which was acquired on 30 June 2007. Profitel's audited revenues for the yearended 30 June 2007 were €346,652. CURRENT TRADING AND PROSPECTS The Globo Group continues to experience strong growth in revenue andprofitability. Revenues in the first six months of this year grew by over 95 percent. compared with the same period last year. The business is seasonal with thefourth quarter being the strongest, largely due to the closing of client budgetsin December. The Directors expect continued growth in revenues. FUTURE STRATEGY Globo intends to expand its activities both in the Greek domestic market as wellas internationally. Its expansion model is based on organic development ofdivisions and subsidiary companies that will target the commercial utilisationof the software products that the Globo Group holds. In addition, Globo mayconsider the acquisition of existing companies or operations both domesticallyin Greece and internationally. The Globo Group intends to increase its presence in the Greek market where it ismainly active. This expansion is focused on several strategic initiatives asfollows: - MARKET PENETRATION. Globo intends to invest in marketing and personnel inorder to increase its market share for each product and service it offers. Themain strategic effort will be in the public sector where Globo has increased itspresence during the past two years, as well as further penetration in the SMEprivate market for which Globo has adapted its solutions; - FURTHER PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND UPGRADING. In order to maintain Globo'scompetitiveness and technological edge, Globo intends to invest in furtherdevelopment and upgrade existing and add new products in the area oftelecommunications and mobile / wireless applications and value added services; - DEVELOPMENT OF S.a.a.S INFRASTRUCTURE. Globo intends to increase itsinfrastructure, in terms of service provisioning hardware and leased lines (datacentre and disaster recovery site), in order to provide the whole Globo Groupwith uninterrupted, high quality services based on its S.a.a.S model; - INVESTMENTS IN WiPLUS BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE. Significant investment isintended in the expansion of WiPLUS hot spots which will provide broadbandinternet connectivity and value added services to customers of the "captivemarkets" (i.e. hotels, cafes, marinas, malls, etc); and - MINIMISATION OF FINANCE COSTS. Part of the Placing proceeds are intended to beused to repay part of the Globo Group's bank debt in order to reduce finance andinterest costs. The Globo Group aims to expand its activities internationally by forming whollyowned subsidiaries in Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Cyprus as a longer termobjective and, given favourable market conditions, the Globo Group intends toevaluate opportunities that may exist in Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the CzechRepublic. The Company may also consider making strategic acquisitions in theBalkans. The role of each subsidiary will be to sell Globo's product portfolio in therelevant target country over time. However, the initial focus will be on thefollowing two service lines: T-COM (Total Communication) The Total Communication package is the aggregate of typical telecom servicessuch as telephony, broadband internet etc. combined with value added servicesbased on Globo software and e-business products offered as S.a.a.S. WiPLUS (Broadband Public Access) The intention would be for each subsidiary to develop a network of Hot-Spots ineach local market, based on a revenue sharing model. In this way the Globo Groupintends to create a seamless platform of Wireless Hot-Spots that will operateunder the same infrastructure and business model within the subsidiaries'respective markets. MARKET OPPORTUNITY The Directors believe that a significant market opportunity exists within thedomestic telecommunications market of Greece and the markets within itsneighbouring states. AN OVERVIEW OF SOUTH EAST EUROPE'S ICT MARKET In South East European countries, partly due to a relatively lower grossdomestic product and the scarcity of infrastructure and outdated communicationsnetworks, growth in the ICT sector has been slower than in the EU as a whole.Nonetheless, the gradual transformation to the networked economy offersopportunities. Major investment is expected in the ICT sector in these countriesin line with EU policy of supporting the newer and less developed member states.For example, the agreement reached by the European Council on the EU's financialframework for 2007-2013 has resulted in €157 billion over the seven years beingallocated to the ten new member states. (Source: European Commission policywebsite 2006) The Globo Group aims to expand in both the domestic and the internationalmarkets, particularly the neighbouring countries of Bulgaria, Romania, Turkeyand Cyprus with a focus on the SME sector. The SME market in these countries isexpected to increase in the future as new EU members are encouraged to supportthe formation of SMEs. Within the Globo Group's prime markets (namely application software, fixed voicetelephony and fixed data services), ICT (Information Communication Technology)expenditure as a whole is expected to amount to approximately €8.7 billion in2007. This is only a segment of the total ICT market; i.e. solely the budgetedspending in application software, fixed voice telephony and fixed data servicesonly. (Source: Greece, Bulgaria, Romania: EITO 2006; Turkey & Cyprus: World Bank2006) +-------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+| | Targeted ICT expenditure (million •) |+-------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------+| | Greece| Bulgaria| Romania| Turkey| Cyprus|+-------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------+|Application | 170| 37| 80| 258| 19||Software | | | | | |+-------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------+|Fixed Voice | 1,893| 355| 653| 2,471| 206||telephony | | | | | |+-------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------+|Fixed Data Services| 983| 157| 218| 1,093| 107|+-------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------+|TOTAL | 3,046| 549| 951| 3,822| 332|+-------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------+ Source: Greece, Bulgaria and Romania: EITO 2006; Turkey, Cyprus: World Bank,2006 The Domestic opportunity The Greek economy has been growing rapidly since 2000 and has one of the higherrates of growth in the EU. As a result of this rapid growth, there has beensignificant investment in the ICT sector. The Globo Group's position in the Greek market The Directors believe that Globo is one of the leading companies in certainareas of the ICT industry in Greece. According to the 2007 ICAP report, Globowas ranked in 9th place in terms of net profits as well as 26th place in termsof revenue out of the 519 companies which comprises the telecoms sector inGreece. The Directors believe that Globo is one of the top five companies in themore specific e-business technology sector in Greece and has a broad portfolioof products and services in the Greek market that contributes to thecompetitiveness of the Globo Group in various tenders, both in the public andprivate sectors. Additionally Profitel, despite its small size, has a nicheposition in the Greek market in terms of service portfolio as well as customertargeting. Profitel exclusively targets business customers and is believed bythe Directors to be the only company in Greece to bundle typical telecomservices (telephony, internet etc) together with value added services based one-business applications (content management systems, e-marketing, intranetsetc). The Directors believe that the Globo Group offers a full package ofservices and products that can help corporate and governmental organisations togrow and optimise their processes whilst at the same time keeping costs at avery competitive level. Competition Globo's business straddles both the IT and telecommunications sectors. In the IT market, Globo's competitors in Greece range from large corporates to anumber of smaller companies. Globo's larger competitors are companies such asSingularLogic, Infoquest, Altec, Unisystems, Intracom and QnR (all listed on theAthens Stock Exchange). Their smaller competitors include Exodus, Profile andGreekGeeks. Some of these companies occasionally partner Globo to bid for someof the bigger public tenders. In addition to the above companies, Globo competeswith international software vendors such as Siebel, Hummingbird, Nomadix andCisco who offer competitive solutions to the Greek market. In the telecommunications market and, more specifically, in the wirelessbroadband networks (wi-fi Hot-Spots) market, Globo's competitors in Greece areForthnet, Otenet (a subsidiary of OTE) and Vodafone. The competition faced inthis area is primarily focused on winning Hot-Spot coverage agreements withvenue owners (such as hotels, marinas, cafes and restaurants) in order toestablish network coverage in the most profitable areas. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT By investing in research and development, Globo develops software and productsdesigned to meet the specialised requirements of business enterprises andpublic-sector organisations both in Greece and abroad. This activity relies onthe internal investment of Globo and on the adoption of stringent softwareengineering practices in order to attempt to ensure the high quality,effectiveness and usability of applications, meet customer requirements, reduceproduction costs and document the know-how gained from each. Globo closelyfollows international developments in key business and technology sectors byactively participating in European Commission R&D initiatives. USE OF PROCEEDS It is the current intention of the Directors to use the GBP2.2million (net ofexpenses) raised pursuant to the Placing to fund international expansion, tore-finance existing debt and to invest in the growth of the existing business. DIRECTORS Brief biographical details of the Directors are set out below. Brett Lance Miller, Non-Executive Chairman (aged 39) Brett Miller graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa)with a Bachelors degree majoring in law and economics and additionally holds alaw degree from the London School of Economics (after having relocated to theUnited Kingdom in 1988). He joined Nabarro Nathanson, a London-based law firm,in September 1993 where he practised until December 1997. He has specialised inmergers and acquisitions and corporate finance in the energy and naturalresources, and smaller companies sectors. He is currently managing director anda key shareholder of Ruegg & Co Limited, a London based corporate financeboutique which is active in bringing new issues to the AIM and PLUS markets.Brett is also a director of Pactolus Hungarian Property plc, an AIM listedproperty fund that invests in residential property in Hungary and West ChinaCement Limited, an AIM listed manufacturer of cement located in the Shanxiprovince of the Peoples Republic of China. He has considerable experience inraising equity capital for smaller companies, having been involved in numeroussmall company flotations in a variety of sectors. Konstantinos ("Costis") Papadimitrakopoulos, Managing Director (aged 39) Konstantinos holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from National TechnicalUniversity of Athens. From 1989 to 1995 Konstantinos was operations and exportsmanager for his family's fruit processing business, Sparti Hellas S.A., where hegained experience of the markets in Greece, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Uponleaving the family business he founded Globo in 1997 and has participated inmore than 15 national and international ICT projects. He is an active member onseveral committees of the federation of Hellenic Information Technology &Communications Enterprises and the Athens Chamber of Commerce. Gerasimos ("Makis") Bonanos, Commercial Director (aged 51) Gerasimos studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds, after whichhe transferred to the American College of Greece and graduated with a BSc degreein Marketing. Gerasimos worked for KODAK Near East Inc between 1982 and 1989with the exception of 1984 where he worked as a senior manager for GeneralMotors ODC before rejoining KODAK in 1985. Gerasimos then joined BIS S.A., anexclusive distributor of KODAK microfilm and digital products where he workedbetween 1989 and 2004. Having acquired expertise in the field of documentmanagement solutions, he joined Globo in 2005 and has been successful in thedevelopment of both Globo's sales and positioning in large-scale projects. Hehas experience in international business as well as the Greek market. Dimitrios Gryparis, Finance Director (aged 32) Dimitrios graduated from Essex University with a bachelors degree in Accountingand Financial Management. He also has a Masters degree in Banking and Financefrom Adelphi University (NY, USA) and is a former banker, having worked as anaccount officer in the Corporate Banking division of EFG Eurobank in Athens for5 years between 2001 and 2006. He joined Globo in June 2006. Gavin John Burnell, Non-Executive Director (aged 30) Gavin has specialised in smaller capitalised companies for the last six years.He joined Ruegg & Co, a London based corporate finance boutique which is activein bringing new issues to AIM and PLUS, in 2001 and is now responsible forequity sales and maintaining client relationships with a number of AIM and PLUSlisted corporate clients. Gavin was a founder shareholder and Non-Executivedirector of Stratex International plc, an AIM-traded resources company with goldexploration properties in Turkey and a Non-Executive Director of Iceni Oil andGas Limited, a private company with North Sea oil and gas exploration projectsrecently sold to Bridge Resources Corp, a TSX-listed company. He served as aNon-Executive director of Agricola Resources plc, a PLUS-traded company betweenOctober 2003 and October 2005. Gavin is also a founder and Non-Executivedirector of Fairholt Resource Investments plc, Halcyon River Investments plc andHigh Road Capital plc, all PLUS traded companies. Gavin holds a degree inAccounting and Finance from the University of West of England. It is the intention of the Directors to augment the Board with an additionalnon-executive director with industry experience within six months of Admission. MAJOR SHAREHOLDINGS At Admission, the major shareholders in the Company and their holdings arefollows: +-----------------------------------+------------------------+-----------------+|NAME | HOLDING| % OF ENLARGED|| | | || | | SHARE CAPITAL|+-----------------------------------+------------------------+-----------------+|Konstantinos Papadimitrakopoulos | 67,436,986| 51.64|+-----------------------------------+------------------------+-----------------+|Stavroula Polychronakou | 14,284,424| 10.94|+-----------------------------------+------------------------+-----------------+|Filippos Adamidis | 12,459,120| 9.54|+-----------------------------------+------------------------+-----------------+|Huxley Investments Limited | 10,526,477| 8.06|+-----------------------------------+------------------------+-----------------+|Hellenic Bank Public Company | 4,785,805| 3.66||Limited | | |+-----------------------------------+------------------------+-----------------+ DISCLAIMER NCB Stockbrokers Limited is acting exclusively as nominated adviser and jointbroker to GLOBO plc in relation to the Admission and the Placing and will not beresponsible to anyone other than GLOBO plc for providing the protectionsafforded to the customers of NCB Stockbrokers Ltd OR for providing any advice inrelation to Admission and the Placing or any other matter referred to herein. Insinger de Beaufort is acting exclusively as joint broker to GLOBO plc inrelation to the Admission and the Placing and will not be responsible to anyoneother than GLOBO plc for providing the protections afforded to the customers ofInsinger de Beaufort OR for providing any advice in relation to Admission andthe Placing or any other matter referred to herein. This announcement, which has been issued by the Company and is the soleresponsibility of the Company, has been approved by NCB Stockbrokers Limitedsolely for the purposes of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act2000 ("FSMA"). This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation tosell, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase, any securities and anypurchase of securities of the Company pursuant to any share placing undertakenby the Company in conjunction with Admission should only be made on the basis ofthe information contained in the Admission Document and any supplement oramendment thereto. The Admission Document contains detailed information aboutthe Company and its management, as well as financial statements and otherfinancial data. Copies of the Admission Document are available during normalbusiness hours on any day (except Saturdays, Sundays, bank and public holidays)free of charge at the offices of NCB Stockbrokers Limited, 51 Moorgate, London,EC2R 6BH for one month from the date of Admission. Information in this announcement or any of the documents relating to Admissionand the Placing cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance. Pastperformance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. The price andvalue of securities may go down as well as up. Persons needing advice shouldcontact a professional adviser who specialises in advising on the acquisition ofshares and other securities. This announcement may contain forward-looking statements relating to theCompany's operations or to the environment in which it operates, which are basedon Company's operations, estimates, forecasts and projections. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks anduncertainties that are difficult to predict or are beyond Company's control.Consequently, readers should not place any undue reliance on suchforward-looking statements. In addition, these forward-looking statements relateto the date on which they are made. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise theseforward-looking statements after the date of this announcement whether as aresult of new information, future events or otherwise except as required byapplicable law or regulation. No statement in this announcement is intended tobe a profit forecast or to be relied upon as a guide to future performance. ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange