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MIND CTI buys Omni Consulting of UK(Israel Business Arena Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Billing and CRM systems company Mind CTI (Nasdaq: MNDO; TASE: MNDO) has announced that it is buying Omni Consulting Company Limited, which trades as Abacus Billing, for about $7.4 million. Abacus Billing is a UK-based company that provides managed services for customer care and billing solutions to telecommunications carriers and large resellers. It is also active in information and billing for utility smart metering. The company has about 30 employees. "Carriers around the world are lately looking more into the managed services option and we are now better positioned to capitalize on this trend," said MIND CEO Monica Eisinger. "Abacus Billing's solid reputation and proven expertise in the European market, its strong existing customer relationships, and a great team of people, complement MIND's strong management, deep industry knowledge, financial backing and global resources. We believe that this acquisition puts MIND in a good position for increased success in the European market." The new division will continue to be led by Karl Wills, CEO of Abacus Billing, and the current management team. "The team at Abacus Billing is enthusiastic about becoming part of a larger, public company with both global reach and financial strength. This transaction allows Abacus Billing to better support its customers by combining and enlarging the software development and deployment teams. Furthermore, it will capitalize on the position that Abacus has attained in Smart Meter Information and Billing," Wills said. MIND CFO Oren Bryan explained the terms of the acquisition. "MIND acquires Abacus Billing for up to approximately $7.4 million, or GBP3.6 million, in cash, of which GBP2.88 million in cash is to be paid upon closing and a maximum performance related earn-out of GBP720 thousand is to be paid over the next 2 years. The transaction is expected to be neutral to earnings per share, excluding acquisition-related items, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, and accretive to earnings per share, excluding acquisition-related items, in fiscal 2008 and thereafter." MIND CTI shares closed at $2.44 in New York yesterday, giving the company a market cap of some $53 million. Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 11, 2007 Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2007 Copyright 2007 Globes, Source: The Financial Times Limited |