Acxiom (NASDAQ:ACXM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Oct 2019 to Oct 2024
Acxiom Continues European Growth With Proposed Acquisition of Consodata S.A.
LONDON and LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, March 1 /PRNewswire/ --
- Deal would include Consodata Germany, formerly known as pan-adress
Acxiom(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) today announced that it has extended
an offer to acquire the Consodata companies based in England, France, Spain
and Germany from Turin-based Seat P.G., one of the world's leading
multi-platform directories companies. Seat has granted Acxiom exclusivity
concerning the proposed transaction and is submitting the transaction to the
Works Council of Consodata S.A., the labour representative body of Consodata,
as required by French law. Under the terms of the offer, Seat P.G. will
retain ownership of the Consodata operations based in Italy and the U.S.
The Consodata European operations own and operate some of the most
comprehensive consumer lifestyle databases in Europe. Acxiom's acquisition,
when completed, will represent its second recent acquisition of the European
operations of a consumer lifestyle and behavioural information business. In
January, Acxiom completed the purchase of the Claritas European operations
based in England, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and
Poland.
Acxiom Company Leader Charles D. Morgan said that by consolidating the
companies' comprehensive data assets and excellent client service
capabilities with Acxiom's technological innovation, Acxiom will be even more
prepared to help companies doing business in Europe improve their marketing
effectiveness and customer acquisition results.
"The Consodata acquisition will be another step forward in our strategy
of providing a full complement of services for businesses wanting to succeed
in the pan-European market," Morgan added.
Morgan said Acxiom, the Consodata European operations and Claritas Europe
are accustomed to serving many of the larger, more successful global
companies. "As a single company, we will be better positioned to respond to
our clients' growing multi-national marketing efforts as well as support
companies of all sizes and geographies who are looking to grow their business
in Europe," he said.
The total net consideration paid by Acxiom for the proposed transaction
will be EUR30 million (approximately US$37.5 million) in cash. The EUR30
million net consideration includes the acquisition of the German operation
formally known as pan-adress and excludes the Consodata Italian business,
which will bebought back by Seat P.G.
Acxiom expects the transaction to be slightly accretive for fiscal 2005.
The acquired Consodata companies are expected to add approximately EUR50
million to EUR55 million (approximately US$63 million to US$69 million) to
Acxiom's revenue for fiscal 2005, which begins April 1, 2004. This will
increase Acxiom's anticipated annual European revenue for fiscal 2005 to
approximately US$230 million to US$235 million. The transaction is expected
to close during the fiscal quarter beginning April 1, 2004.
Consodata's clients include some of the world's most successful companies
in the financial services, retail and media industries. The Consodata data
acquisition and sales offices being purchased by Acxiom are in Kingston,
England; Lyon, Lille and Paris, France; Munich, Germany; and Barcelona,
Spain.
Consodata products will be re-branded with the Acxiom name. Very much
like Acxiom's InfoBase(R) products in the U.S. and the recently acquired
Claritas Europe products, Consodata's products provide consumer lifestyle and
behavioural information necessary for effective marketing.
About Acxiom
Acxiom Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) integrates data, services and
technology to create and deliver customer and information management
solutions for many of the largest, most respected companies in the world. The
core components of Acxiom's innovative solutions are Customer Data
Integration (CDI) technology, data, database services, IT outsourcing,
consulting and analytics, and privacy leadership. Founded in 1969, Acxiom is
headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, with locations throughout the United
States and Europe, and in Australia and Japan. For more information, visit
www.acxiom.com.
Acxiom and InfoBase are registered trademarks of Acxiom Corporation.
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially; such statements include but are notnecessarily limited to the
following: 1) that the transactions are expected to be slightly accretive for
fiscal 2005; 2) that the anticipated revenue from the companies acquired is
estimated to be approximately EUR50 million to EUR55 million (approximately
US$63 million to US$69 million); 3) that Acxiom's annual European revenue for
fiscal 2005 is expected to be approximately US$230 million to US$235 million;
4) that the transaction will close in the first fiscal quarter of fiscal
2005; and 5) that the acquired companies will be successfully integrated into
Acxiom's existing business, including the recently acquired Claritas European
businesses. The following are important factors, among others, that could
cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking
statements: The possibility that certain contracts may not be closed or
closed within the anticipated time frames; the possibility that certain
contracts may not generate the anticipated revenue or profitability; the
possibility that economic or other conditions might lead to a reduction in
demand for the Company's products and services; the possibility that the
current economic slowdown may worsen and/or persist for an unpredictable
period of time; the possibility that economic conditions will not be as
expected; the possibility that significant customers may experience extreme,
severe economic difficulty; the possibility that the fair value of certain
assets of the Company may not be equal to the carrying value of those assets
now or in future time periods; the possibility that sales cycles may
lengthen; the continued ability to attract and retain qualified technical and
leadership associates and the possible loss of associates to other
organizations; the ability to properly motivate the sales force and other
associates of the Company; the ability to achieve cost reductions and avoid
unanticipated costs; the continued availability of credit upon satisfactory
terms and conditions; the introduction of competent, competitive products,
technologies or services by other companies; potential pricing pressure due
to market conditions and/or competitive products and services; changes in
consumer or business information industries and markets; the Company's
ability to protect proprietary information and technology or to obtain
necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms; the difficulties
encountered when entering new markets or industries; changes in the
legislative, accounting, regulatory and consumer environments affecting the
Company's business, including but not limited to litigation, legislation,
regulations and customs relating to the Company's ability to collect, manage,
aggregate and use data; the possibility that data suppliers might withdraw
data from the Company, leading to the Company's inability to provide certain
products and services; the entry into short-term contracts vs. long-term
contracts, which could affect the predictability of the Company's revenues;
the possibility that the amount of adhoc, volume based and project work will
not be as expected; the potential loss of data center capacity or
interruption of telecommunication links or power sources; postal rate
increases that could lead to reduced volumes of business; the possibility
that customers may cancel or modify their agreements with the Company; the
potential disruption of the services of the United States Postal Service,
their global counterparts and other delivery systems; the successful
integration of any acquired businesses; and other competitive factors. With
respect to the providing of products or services in Europe and elsewhere
outside the Company's primary base of operations in the U.S., all of the
above factors are applicable, along with the difficulty of doing business in
numerous sovereign jurisdictions due to differences in culture, laws and
regulations. Other factors are disclosed from time to time in the Company's
periodic reports and registration statements filed with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission. Acxiom believes that it has the product
and technology offerings, facilities, associates and competitive and
financial resources for continued business success, but future revenues,
costs, margins and profits are all influenced by a number of factors,
including those discussed above, all of which are inherently difficult to
forecast. Acxiom undertakes no obligation to update the information contained
in this press release, any conference call, or any other forward-looking
statement.
DATASOURCE: Acxiom Corporation
European Media Contact: Katy Ludditt, Band & Brown Communications,
+44(0)207-419-7000, Media Contact: Jonathan Portis, Acxiom Public Relations,
+1-501-252-6284, Financial Relations Contact: Robert S. Bloom, Financial
Relations Leader, Acxiom Corporation, +1-501-252-1321, EACXM, GACXM