Holding in Traderserve

17 May 2007 10:33

Brainspark PLC17 May 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 17 May 2007 BRAINSPARK PLC ("Brainspark" or "the Company") Sale of the shares in Traderserve held by Brainspark Brainspark today announces that it has sold its holding in Traderserve Limited("Traderserve") a software vendor and consultancy firm focused on real-timetrading applications for brokers, traders and fund managers. Brainspark's shareholding which represented 34.6% of the issued share capital ofTraderserve, has been sold back to existing shareholders of the company andtheir associates for: 1) an immediate cash consideration of £75,000; 2) the right to share in the gain from a future sale of TraderServe Shares asfollows: under the terms of the sale, in the event of a sale of TraderserveShares within24 months Brainspark will retain the right to receive a full 34.6%of the gain made from such a sale Subsequently, during the following 60 months,in the event of a sale of Traderserve shares the 34.6% gain received byBrainspark will be decreased by straight line depreciation to an irreducible 5%of the gain which continues for the long term; 3) Payment of £24,505 to Brainspark for past director's fees will be made prorata with accrued fees due to Traderserve Directors as soon as free cash flowpermits; and 4) Immediate payment of the Brainspark director's fees for the first six monthsof 2007 amounting to £2,500. In the Brainspark accounts, the book value of Traderserve was fully writtendown a number of years ago. The transaction will therefore generate a profit of£75,000 for the current 2007 Brainspark fiscal year. By mutual agreement with Traderserve Brainspark Services Ltd, a Director inTraderserve, has ceased to be a member of the Traderserve board. Traderserve'srevenues for the year ended 31st December 2006 are expected to be £457,000 withpre-tax profit of around £7,000. Francesco Gardin, Chairman of Brainspark, commented on the disposal: "We arepleased about this transaction and we will use the proceeds for otherinvestments, and the international growth of the Company. It is gratifying thatwe have been able to negotiate a continuing participation in the future value ofTraderserve, which could be significant. We recognise the market potential ofits advanced algorithmic trading platforms and related software, and wishTraderserve every success in the future". For information please contact: Francesco Gardin, Brainspark plc on 00 39 335 296573Roland Cornish, Beaumont Cornish Limited on 020 7628 3396. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange