Acquisition

25 Apr 2008 15:22

AEC Education plc25 April 2008 25 April 08 AEC Education plc ("AEC" or "the Company") Announcement: Acquisition of a 30% stake in Kasturi Management Consultancy Sdn. Bhd ("Kasturi") AEC is pleased to announce that on 15 April 2008, the Company, through itswholly owned subsidiary, AEC Edu Group Pte Ltd, acquired a 30% stake in Kasturifor MYR 416,571 (£67,168). The consideration was settled by a forgiveness ofdebt owed by Kasturi to AEC. The audited Accounts of Kasturi for the period ended 31 December 2007 showedrevenue of MYR 5,339,821 (£860,994) and operating profit before tax of MYR164,606 (£26,541). After accounting for interest (MYR 7,918) and the write offof goodwill (MYR 721,800), Kasturi recorded a loss of MYR 565,112 (£91,119). Kasturi owns Kolej Kasturi ("KK") www.kasturi.edu.my, a leading provider ofprofessional and business programs in Malaysia. KK offers ACCA and CATaccounting programs and a range of English Language training programs. KK's focus on ACCA coincides with the introduction of ACCA courses in AEC inSingapore. The synergies arising from operating the programmes in Malaysia andSingapore combined with the Management Contract also announced today providesopportunities for growth and profit from these programmes within the AEC Group. Kasturi occupies an office of about 12,000 sq.ft in the heart of Kuala Lumpur,near the famous central market. This purchase is a continuation of the AEC strategy to acquire and develop smallto medium size synergistic organizations that can quickly contribute to profitand growth. Exchange rate £1 = 6.20192 MYR - END - For further information please visit www.aeceduplc.co.uk or enquire to: Mr David HoAEC Edu Group Pte LtdTel: (65) 64120718Email: davidho@aec.edu.sg Nabarro Wells & Co LimitedTel: +44 (0) 20 7634 4700 David Nabarro, Natasha Reed This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange