STP.L Regulatory News (STP)

12 Sep 2006 07:04

Spiritel PLC12 September 2006 For immediate release 12 September 2006 SPIRITEL PLC ("Spiritel" or "the Company") Acquisition of Callplan Ltd Spiritel plc (AIM: STP), the telecommunications services business, is pleased toannounce the earnings-enhancing acquisition of the entire share capital of theprivately held company Callplan Ltd, a sales agency that markets products andservices in the UK on behalf of Telstra, Australia's national telecoms companyand the world's thirteenth largest telco. Under the terms of the acquisition of Callplan, Spiritel will pay initial cashconsiderations of £324,000 for goodwill plus £81,000 for net assets, whichinclude cash balances of £127,000. The total consideration is up to £632,000,including the £81,000 net asset payment and a performance-related earn-outpayment of up to £227,000. The acquisition will be funded through debt and therecent issue of new ordinary shares to Wills & Co Stockbrokers, which subscribedfor 10,000,000 new ordinary shares of 1p each in the Company at 2.5p per share,as announced on 29 August 2006. Callplan, which sells through a network of more than 70 independent agents, wasfounded in 2003 and is the only independent Telstra-branded sales channel in theUK. Callplan has more than 170 SME and corporate clients including blue chip UKcustomers and has a current run rate of £150,000 net profit per annum. In the 12months ended 31 January 2006, Callplan reported profits before tax of £137,000.Callplan's sales have grown strongly since launch and it is anticipated that theacquisition will be earnings enhancing for Spiritel immediately from the time ofacquisition. Callplan offers clients Telstra's full retail portfolio including outbound andinbound voice, wholesale line rental, broadband, non-geographic numbers andvirtual managed data networks. The acquisition of Callplan follows Spiritel's recently stated strategicintention of completing a series of acquisitions to broaden the Company's routesto market. Callplan will be part of Spiritel Retail, the Spiritel divisionformed to spearhead Spiritel's planned direct-to-consumer initiatives. Alastair Mills, Spiritel's Chief Executive, commented: "Callplan is a highlyprofitable and fast-growing company and is an ideal first acquisition towardsthe delivery of our strategy of gaining a direct relationship with customers.The acquisition is immediately earnings enhancing and we look forward tobuilding on Callplan's growth to date." For further information: Spiritel plc 020 7160 0100Alastair Mills, Chief Executive Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000Mark CourtMary-Jane Johnson Notes for Editors: About Spiritel plc Spiritel plc (AIM: STP) is a telecommunications services and products companythat joined the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in July 2004. Itsservices include call termination and in addition it has developed a suite ofleading-edge VoIP products, positioning the Company to benefit from themigration from traditional telephony to VoIP services. For further information please visit www.spiritelplc.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange