Acquisition & Alliance

30 Jul 2007 07:02

eXpansys Plc30 July 2007 ACQUISITION OF YOONOO LIMITED and STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH TRUPHONE Acquisition of YooNoo Limited eXpansys plc ("eXpansys" or the "Group") is pleased to announce that it hasacquired YooNoo Limited ("YooNoo"), the owners ofwww.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk, www.shiroi.co.uk and www.goaudio.co.uk, foran initial cash consideration of £0.2 million. Deferred consideration of up to£0.9 million will be payable, depending on the performance of YooNoo in the 12months following completion. Of this deferred consideration, 50% must be paid incash with the remaining 50% being payable in either cash or eXpansys shares atthe discretion of the eXpansys Board. The total consideration payable for YooNoowill not exceed £1.2 million. On completion, YooNoo had net cash of £0.3 millionand stock of £0.4 million. YooNoo, through its website www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk, is the marketleading online retailer of satellite navigation systems in the UK. The directorsof eXpansys believe that YooNoo will fit neatly into the eXpansys group and thatsignificant cost savings will be achievable through economies of scale,particularly in warehousing, financing and IT. Roger Butterworth, CEO of eXpansys, said: "YooNoo owns three significant webbrands with a reputation for providing good customer service and having realproduct knowledge. So, I am delighted to announce the purchase of this businesswhich adds depth to the eXpansys group of companies. "I believe that, following flotation, eXpansys is well positioned to developthese brands and deliver further growth." Truphone Strategic Alliance The Board of eXpansys also announces that the Company has entered a strategicalliance with Truphone to provide a co-branded mobile VOIP service to users ofdual mode WiFi / GSM handsets. The service will be offered to eXpanys' onemillion plus customers, as a low cost alternative to traditional pre-pay mobileservices. Roger Butterworth said: "Research indicates that around 60% of mobile phonecalls are made from the home or office and this service will operate when a useris in a WiFi hotspot or connected to their WiFi network at home or in theoffice. Also, international calls from our service will be 70-80% cheaper thancalls made over legacy mobile networks." For further information, please contact: eXpansys plc Tel: +44 (0) 161 232 3410Roger Butterworth, CEO roger@expansys.comInvestor relations website www.expansys.com/investor.aspx Rawlings Financial PR Limited Tel: +44 (0) 1756 770 376Catriona Valentine catriona@rawlingsfinancial.co.uk About eXpansys The Group specialises in the sale of handheld electronic devices with wirelessconnectivity and boasts a wide offering ranging from smartphones and ultramobile personal computers, to cameras and GPS equipment. Under the umbrella ofwww.expansys.com, www.nomatica.com, www.portix.com and www.mobileplanet.com,eXpansys operates some 50 websites in 12 different languages that cater to themajor economies of the world and serve both retail customers and blue-chipcorporate accounts including Microsoft, Oracle, The Metropolitan Police and DellComputer. Based in Manchester, eXpansys has grown both organically and through acquisitionand has a global infrastructure that allows it to service its internationalcustomer base through a network of warehouses in the UK, France, USA, Hong Kongand Australia. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange