Acquisition

12 Dec 2005 07:00

Empresaria Group PLC12 December 2005 Empresaria Group plc Acquisition of Monroe Consulting Group Pty Ltd (Australia) and Monroe Consulting Group KK (Japan) Empresaria Group plc ("Empresaria" or "the Group") is pleased to announce thaton Friday 9th December it completed an investment of AUS$1.8m (£775k) in twoconnected businesses, Monroe Consulting Group Pty Ltd ("MCG") and MonroeConsulting Group KK ("MCG KK"), acquiring a 60% shareholding in each companythrough the issue of new shares. The existing management team retains theremaining shareholding. This transaction continues the expansion of Empresaria's internationaloperations. It extends the Group's representation into three new countries,Australia, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as strengthening the Group's existingpresence in Japan. MCG is based in Sydney, Australia and supplies IT, call centre, sales andmarketing and accountancy and finance staff on both a temporary and permanentbasis. The company also has operations in Thailand and Indonesia operatingunder joint venture arrangements and focusing primarily on the supply of callcentre staff. MCG KK is a recent stand alone start up investment in Japanfocussing currently on the provision of temporary staff to the Japanese callcentre industry. MCG has 34 staff based in Sydney, 12 in Thailand and 9 inIndonesia. MCG KK operates with 7 staff in Tokyo. MCG and MCG KK generatedcumulative revenue of AUS$ 10.75 (£4.3m) in the year ending 30 June 2005 up fromAUS$7.3m (£3m) in the previous year. An initial cash investment of AUS$1.8m is being made with AUS$1.2m beinginvested through the issue of new shares across both MCG and MCG KK and AUS$600kbeing provided by way of a loan. Of this sum AUS$750k will remain in thecompanies with the balance being used to repay outstanding loans. As part ofthe transaction Empresaria has also agreed to pay a further deferred cash sum ofAUS$250k during the first quarter of 2006 which will further strengthen thebalance sheets of each company and enable the management team to implement andfinance growth plans in each of the markets in which it operates. Empresaria'sinvestment is being made out of existing cash resources. Commenting on the acquisition, Miles Hunt, Chief Executive of Empresaria said: "Monroe Consulting Group has an established operation and recognised brand inAustralia and a management team who have demonstrated the ambition to expandinto the emerging staffing markets of the Far East. The investment of workingcapital and access to development capital resulting from this transaction willbetter enable the Monroe management team to fulfil their growth ambitions. ForEmpresaria, this transaction represents further access to growing internationalstaffing markets and marks another step in the path towards developing abalanced spread of international staffing operations. It also furtherdemonstrates that the management equity philosophy and model, used successfullyin the UK, has equal application in markets outside the UK. We are delightedthat MCG and MCG KK are joining the Group." For further enquiries please contact: Empresaria Group Plc 01293 649 900Tony Martin (Chairman)Miles Hunt (Chief Executive)Nick Hall-Palmer (Finance Director) Bridgewell Securities Limited 020 7003 3000Nick Tulloch Notes for editors: Empresaria Group plc is a diversified recruitment group built on a philosophy ofmanagement equity through organic growth, investment in start-up businesses andproviding funding for management buy outs within the staffing sector. Empresaria was formed in 1996 by Miles Hunt and consists of 21 staffingcompanies. Its business model allows founder managers and key staff withinEmpresaria's subsidiaries to acquire or retain a meaningful stake in thebusinesses they run or work in. Empresaria currently provides specialist recruitment services across fivesectors in the UK; namely: 1. Construction, Property Services & Engineering; 2. Supply Chain; 3. Public Sector; 4. Financial Services; and 5. Specialist Brands. In addition, Empresaria is actively expanding internationally and has alreadyestablished operations in the US, China and Japan. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange