VTC.L Regulatory News (VTC)

6 Oct 2006 07:01

The Vitec Group PLC06 October 2006 6 October 2006 The Vitec Group plc Acquisition of the Autoscript prompting business The Vitec Group plc ("Vitec") announces that it has today signed an agreement toacquire the issued share capital of ALC Broadcast Limited, which is the holdingcompany for the Autoscript prompting businesses ("Autoscript"). Autoscript is one of the leading providers of prompting hardware and software tothe broadcast industry, with subsidiaries in the UK and USA. Vitec acts asdistributor for Autoscript in Germany and Italy. Vitec and Autoscript recentlyco-developed an innovative prompting system which gained one of a number ofindustry awards recently received by Autoscript. More information may be foundat www.autoscript.tv. Sales of Autoscript in the year ended 31 December 2005 were £3.5m. Gross assetsthat are the subject of the acquisition are expected to be £2.1m, including£0.7m of goodwill. The initial cash consideration, together with earnoutpayments relating to 2007 and 2008 performance, will be funded from existingresources. The acquisition is expected to be slightly earnings-enhancing in thefinancial year ending 2007 (see note 1). Completion is expected to take place onor around 31 October 2006. Gareth Rhys Williams, Chief Executive of Vitec, said: "I am delighted to announce this acquisition. Autoscript is a growing businessthat we know well which, together with our existing brands, will enhance ourposition as a leading supplier to the broadcast and video industry." - Ends - Contacts: The Vitec Group plc Tel: 020 8939 4650Gareth Rhys WilliamsAlastair Hewgill Financial Dynamics Tel: 020 7269 7121Richard Mountain/Susanne Walker Notes to Editors About The Vitec Group plc: The Vitec Group plc supplies a wide range of equipment and services to thebroadcasting, entertainment and photographic industries. Its products aredistributed in nearly 100 countries, either through dealerships or direct to theend user or corporate customer. The Vitec Group is a major force in its chosenspecialised fields. More information can be found at: http://www.vitecgroup.com. Note 1: This statement should not be taken to mean that earnings per share (preamortisation of intangibles) of The Vitec Group plc will necessarily exceed orbe lower than historic earnings per share (pre amortisation of intangibles) ofThe Vitec Group plc and no forecast is intended or implied. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange