Acxiom (NASDAQ:ACXM)
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Acxiom Expands Geographic Reach With Acquisition of Claritas Europe
LONDON and LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, December 8 /PRNewswire/ -- European
Companies to Benefit From Blending of Leading Data,
Technological and Solutions Expertise
Acxiom(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) today announced that it had reached
an agreement to acquire the Claritas Europe group of companies from VNU N.V.,
a global information and media company based in Haarlem, The Netherlands.
"This is a landmark day for Acxiom," said Acxiom Company Leader Charles
D. Morgan. "We are very excited about this opportunity to combine Acxiom's
superior data integration and solutions capabilities with Claritas's premier
data assets and broader presence in Europe." As a result, Morgan said, Acxiom
will be able to help companies doing business in Europe improve their
marketing effectiveness and prospecting results in ways previously not
possible.
"I am also pleased to welcome many talented new associates to Acxiom,"
Morgan added. "People at Acxiom - with their technical know-how and
commitment to our clients' success - are our No. 1 asset and our competitive
difference, and we look forward to bringing these new associates onto the
team."
Acxiom will pay EUR 33.5 million (approximately $40 million) in cash for
Claritas Europe's operations. Acxiom expects the transaction to be slightly
dilutive for the balance of fiscal 2004 and to be accretive for fiscal 2005.
The transaction is expected to close within 30 days. The anticipated revenue
from the companies acquired will be approximately EUR 83 million
(US$100 million) for the 12 months ending December 31, 2003, which will
approximately triple Acxiom's annual European revenue. The transaction is
pending approval from the appropriate work councils.
Claritas products will be re-branded with the Acxiom name. Very much like
Acxiom's InfoBase(R) products in the U.S., Claritas Europe's products provide
the largest source of consumer lifestyle and behavioral information for
effective marketing across Europe.
Claritas Europe clients are among some of the world's most successful
companies in the financial services, automotive, retail, consumer durables,
mail order, publishing, telecommunications, utilities, and travel and leisure
industries. (Claritas Europe is operated independently from Claritas, Inc., a
separate VNU subsidiary that operates in the U.S. Claritas, Inc. is not
involved in this transaction.)
The Claritas Europe data acquisition and sales offices being purchased by
Acxiom are in Paris; Frankfurt; Warsaw; Madrid; Lisbon, Teddington, England,
and Leiderdorp, The Netherlands. Claritas services operations include Altwood
Systems in Kent, England; and BPK Group in Almere and Nieuwegein, the
Netherlands. Currently, Acxiom European operations are in London, Leeds and
Sunderland, England, as well as Paris.
"These expanded operations will allow Acxiom to provide a full complement
of services for the Pan-European market," Morgan said. These services fully
leverage Acxiom's customer information infrastructure, including InfoBase(R)
data content, superior AbiliTec(R)-driven data integration capabilities, and
the expansive data assets of the new markets.
While the acquisition gives Acxiom a much broader capability to provide
data and services for companies doing business in Europe, Morgan said it will
also be welcome news to many U.S.-based companies who are actively expanding
their businesses into Europe. Acxiom's U.K. office has recently signed
significant agreements with a number of leading companies already served by
Acxiom in the U.S.
Morgan also announced a strong European leadership team that combines
decades of experience in client services, technology and business development
from multiple markets. Kevin Zaffaroni, who has served as an Acxiom group
leader for financial services clients since 1997, will head up the new
Acxiom-Europe organization. Zaffaroni, who previously served as an executive
at IBM, brings more than 25 years of expertise in the information technology
industry.
Cindy Truyens, who has been with Acxiom since 2000 and serving as
managing director of Acxiom (U.K.) Limited and director of Acxiom France,
will now lead the company's expanded business in the U.K. Auke Jan van den
Hout, now managing director for Claritas Europe Database Marketing Division,
will lead the Northern European group of the new organization. Thierry Asmar,
now managing director of Claritas France, will lead the Southern European
group.
Bruce Carroll, Acxiom's strategic development leader and a senior
executive at the company the past four years, will also be directly involved
in integrating the products of Acxiom and the acquired companies. He has more
than 30 years' experience in building successful micromarketing and database
companies in the U.S., Europe and Canada. He was one of the founding partners
and President/CEO of Claritas in the U.S. After the acquisition of Claritas
by VNU in 1990, Carroll became President/CEO of Computerized Marketing
Technologies in London. One of the largest data acquisition and direct
marketing companies in Europe, CMT was later acquired by VNU to become the
largest and core operation of Claritas Europe.
Wally Anderson will serve as chief technology leader for Acxiom Europe.
Anderson joined Acxiom in 1998 and has had a key role in developing AbiliTec
and Acxiom's grid-based solutions architecture. Prior to joining Acxiom, he
was the vice president for technology and communications for Wal-Mart Stores,
and he had a long career with IBM in many marketing and technology positions.
Acxiom will hold a conference call at 10:00 a.m. CST today to discuss
this information further. Interested parties are invited to listen to the
call, which will be broadcast via the Internet at www.acxiom.com.
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 in the United
Kingdom, France, Australia and Japan. For more information, visit
www.acxiom.com.
Acxiom, AbiliTec and InfoBase are registered trademarks of Acxiom
Corporation.
This release and today's conference call contain forward-looking
statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially; such statements include but are
not necessarily limited to the following: 1) that the transactions are
expected to be slightly dilutive for the balance of fiscal 2004 and to be
accretive for fiscal 2005; 2) that the anticipated revenue from the companies
acquired is estimated to be approximately EUR 83 million or $ 100 million for
the 12 months ending December 31, 2003;3) that the transaction will be
approved by the necessary regulatory authorities and will close within the
expected timeframe; and 4) that the acquired companies will be successfully
integrated into Acxiom's existing business. 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; data suppliers might withdraw data from the Company,
leading to the Company's inability to provide certain products and services;
short-term contracts affect the predictability of the Company's revenues; the
possibility that the amount of ad hoc, 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; customers that 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 Europt and elsewhere outside the Company's primary base of
operations in the U.S., all of the above factors and the difficulty of doing
business in numerous sovereign jurisdictions due to differences in culture,
laws and regulations. Other factors are detailed 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, the conference call, or any other forward-looking
statement.
Media Contacts:
Bill McIntyre/Katy Ludditt, Band & Brown Communications, +44(0)20 7419 7000
Investors Relations Contact: Robert Bloom, Acxiom Corporation, +1-501-342-1321