Vianet Grp Regulatory News (VNET)

11 May 2007 07:00

Brulines (Holdings) PLC11 May 2007 Press Release 11 May 2007 Brulines (Holdings) plc ("Brulines" or "the Company") Acquisition Brulines (Holdings) plc (AIM:BRU), the leading provider of draught alcoholicdrinks volume, quality and profit protection systems for the UK licensedon-trade, is pleased to announce that it has acquired a 66 percent. shareholdingin Coin Metrics Limited ("Coin Metrics") for a consideration of £685,000, ofwhich £622,750 was paid in cash with the balance satisfied by the issue of36,974 ordinary shares of 10p each in the Company. Application will be made forthe new ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on the Alternative InvestmentMarket of the London Stock Exchange. Brulines has also entered into an option agreement with each of the co-foundersof Coin Metrics, Ian Daintith and Richard Adams, ("Put Option") whereby IanDaintith and/or Richard Adams can require Brulines to purchase their remainingshares in Coin Metrics following determination of the audited results of CoinMetrics for each of the three financial years ending 31 March 2012 on an agreedformula, based upon the level of recurring income generated by Coin Metrics inthe relevant financial year. Brulines has the option to acquire all of theoutstanding ordinary shares in Coin Metrics owned by Ian Daintith and RichardAdams following the expiry of the Put Option on the same formula basis. Coin Metrics Limited ('Coin Metrics'), established in 2005 and based in MiltonKeynes, has developed the Site Guardian system, a wireless data product thatallows its customers in the amusement and gaming (or 'AWP') industries tomonitor constantly the financial performance of their gaming sites and assetsaccurately in real time. The management accounts for the year ended 31 March2007 for Coin Metrics showed that it generated an unaudited profit beforetaxation and directors' remuneration of £149,000 on turnover of £398,000. Todate Coin Metrics has sold over 4,000 Site Guardian units to 100 sites acrossthe UK, primarily to owners of adult gaming centres or family entertainmentcentres. The co-founders of Coin Metrics, Ian Daintith and Richard Adams, have enteredinto service contracts with Coin Metrics. Messrs Daintith and Adams werepreviously also directors and shareholders of Wireless Futures UK Limited ("Wireless Futures"), a company providing consultancy services into thedevelopment of wireless technology. In October 2005 Messrs Daintith and Adams,Wireless Futures and Coin Metrics were notified of a potential claim againstthem arising from work done by Wireless Futures. Brulines has been made aware ofthis potential claim and after investigation of the merits considers that thereis no substance to the claim. Brulines' core service is Dispense Monitoring, where an intelligent flow meterwith an imbedded micro-processor is inserted between keg and tap to recordvolume data. This data is transmitted for analysis by Brulines via its uniqueedisBOX, a wireless telemetry unit which is also capable of supporting otherdata sensors within premises, such as those fitted to AWP (or 'gaming') machinesby Coin Metrics. The acquisition of Coin Metrics is a strong strategic fit with Brulines'existing Machine Insite business which already provides gaming machine datamanagement and consultancy services to operators within the pub, club andleisure markets. Commenting on the acquisition, James Dickson, Chief Executive of Brulines, said: "The acquisition of Coin Metrics is an important strategic development inBrulines' growth plans and complements the innovative nature of Brulines'existing technology, which is already recognised as the industry standard fordispense data information. Importantly, the acquisition will enable Brulines toaccelerate our growing AWP data management business to market leadership throughreal time remote download of data from AWP machines, whilst also opening up newapplications and markets for the next generation of wireless data capturesystems such as vending. The deal has strong product synergy and very little overlap between ourrespective customer bases where there are already strong relationships. Thisgives us a solid platform to cross sell and also take a market leading portfolioto a widening market. " Ian Daintith, Director and Co-Founder of Coin Metrics Limited, commented: "This acquisition represents a strategic step in the growth of the Coin Metricsbusiness. Clearly there is a great technical and product synergy between the twoorganisations and this investment also allows Coin Metrics to accelerate thedelivery of its ambitious plans within both the gaming and vending markets inthe UK whilst maintaining the high level of support and delivery expected by ourexisting customer base." The Company's maiden preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2007 willbe announced on 19 June 2007. - Ends - Enquiries: Brulines (Holdings) plcJames Dickson, Chief ExecutiveMark Foster, Finance Director Tel: +44 (0) 1642 358 800mark.foster@brulines.com www.brulines.com Media enquiries: AbchurchHelen Waggott / Justin Heath Tel: +44 (0) 113 203 1340helen.waggott@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com About Brulines Headquartered in Stockton-on-Tees, Brulines employs more than 174 people. Thecompany provides a complete 'information gateway' in more than 18,000 pubs inthe UK, capturing a wide variety of valuable information that enables licensees,operators, owners and brewers the opportunity to improve their business successthrough increased knowledge. A more recent and rapidly growing product offer is Brand Quality Monitoring,which scrutinises the quality of products running through beer lines in a bar;measuring volume, temperature, flow rate and liquid type (e.g. beer, cleaningfluid or water) at the point of dispense. www.brulines.com About Coin Metrics Coin Metrics Limited provides innovative wireless data management systems forthe coin-op industry in the UK. Its flagship product is SITEGuardianTM whichprovides live, up to the minute information regarding a gaming machinesfinancial performance and revenue - wirelessly and from anywhere in the world.Coin Metrics have ambitious product lines in development which willrevolutionise gaming promotional systems. Their existing customer base includessome of the largest operators within the gaming industry. http://www.coinmetrics.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange