Ness to Further Expand Presence in Central and Eastern Europe
Hackensack, NJ - March 28, 2005 - Ness Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSTC), a global provider of IT solutions and services, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Radix Company SA, a privately held leading provider of IT services and solutions based in Romania. The purchase price, in the all cash transaction is 4 million Euros, or approximately $5.2 million. In addition, should Radix achieve certain performance goals over the next two years, Ness will pay an additional amount of up to 3 million Euros, or approximately $3.9 million. The acquisition is expected to close by April 10, 2005 and is subject to customary closing conditions. For the full year 2004, Radix Company SA generated revenues in excess of $12 million and was profitable.
Radix Company SA is one of the leading Romanian IT services and solutions providers and is expected to provide synergies with Ness' current operations in Central and Eastern Europe. Radix maintains strong partnerships with SAP and Microsoft, as well as other leading vendors, and provides a variety of solutions, including ERP implementation services, content management as well as decision support solutions and work flow automation. There is growing demand for IT services and solutions in Romania, a member nation of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which is seeking European Union (EU) membership in 2007.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Radix Company SA will change its name to Ness Romania and will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ness’ Dutch subsidiary, Ness Technologies, B.V. Gabriel Mardarasevici, President and CEO of Radix, will serve as Managing Director of Ness Romania and will report to Ivan Hruska, President of Ness Europe.
“The Radix Company SA deal meets the strategic criteria for such an acquisition: the ability to leverage our position through a highly-skilled local management team, an acquisition which is immediately accretive to Ness and low integration risks, all complemented by the further expansion of our position in Central and Eastern Europe,” said Raviv Zoller, President and CEO of Ness Technologies. “We have tremendous confidence in the local Radix management team and look forward to having them join the Ness team to gain a leading position in the Romanian market for IT services, which also has an abundance of highly-skilled IT professionals.”
"We are proud to become a part of Ness, a global IT services leader. A key factor in our decision to join Ness is the added value that Ness brings to companies which they acquire,” said Gabriel Mardarasevici, President and CEO of Radix Company SA. “As Ness Romania, we will be in a unique position to deliver more to our customers and to strengthen our ability to work with global partners. The growing IT market in Romania will need robust, high-quality IT solutions and services and Ness Technologies is in an excellent position to meet these needs.”
About Ness Technologies
Ness Technologies (NASDAQ: NSTC) is a global provider of end-to-end IT services and solutions designed to help clients improve competitiveness and efficiency. Specializing in outsourcing and offshore, systems integration and application development, software and consulting, and quality assurance and training, Ness serves a blue-chip client base of over 500 public- and private-sector customers. With 5,000 employees, Ness maintains operations in 14 countries across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, and partners with over 100 software and hardware vendors worldwide. Ness’ “best-shore” capabilities streamline service delivery and address the full range of client needs.
About Radix Company SA
Founded in 1993, Radix Company SA, is a privately held company with offices in Bucharest and Iasi, Romania. The company is one of the leading Romanian IT solutions and services providers. Radix Company SA maintains strong partnerships with SAP and Microsoft, as well as other leading vendors and provides a variety of solutions, including ERP implementation services, content management and work flow automation. Major clients include large corporations such as Electica (Romanian national electricity supplier), Hidroelectrica, OPCOM (Romanian electricity market operator), Mobifon (Romanian GSM service provider), Coca-Cola, IBM and CFR (the Romanian national railway company). For more information please visit the Radix’s website at www.radix.ro.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often are proceeded by words such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “intends,” “assumes,” “will” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations, as of the date of this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Ness' actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward looking statements as a result of various factors. Some of the factors that could cause future results to materially differ from the recent results or those projected in forward-looking statements include the “Risk Factors” described in Ness' Prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 29, 2004.
