Adcore Deutschland informiert: Adcore acquires Facing Facts in the Netherlands

Adcore Deutschland informiert: Adcore acquires Facing Facts in the Netherlands

Adcore - the newly merged operation of Information Highway/Connecta - has signed an agreement to acquire Facing Factsin Amsterdam, with its 44 expert employees with cutting-edge Internet Services competencies. The purchase price of NLG 33 m will be paid in cash and newly issued Adcore shares. Facing Fact’s clients are ”Bluechip-companies” like Canon Benelux, Akzo Nobel, Generali, Bison International and McDonalds.

This buy-out offers access to an important European market, creates a strategic platform for further expansion in Central Europe and strengthens Adcore’s position as Europe’s leading ”Digital Business Creators”. Facing Facts mission is to be the leading Web Solutions House in the Netherlands and neighbouring countries by delivering high quality products and services to the top end of the market. The annual turnover is NLG 7.9 m for 2000, a growth of 100 percent compared to 1999, and is expected to grow another 100 percent next year.

Göran Wågström, Adcore’s CEO commented ”Facing Facts is by far the best internet consulting practice in Holland. The company is profitable, brings a number of interesting clients and shows an impressing entrepreneurial force and competence within digital business soultions. Facing Facts is very well positioned and strengthens our presence in Centraleurope considerably. We see a great potential in the BeNeLux-region as well as obvious synergies with our business in Germany.”

Stefanie Lion, Managing Director of Facing Facts commented that ”Adcore is the leading Digital Business Creators in Europe and I’m very excited about joining the Adcore group because it provides Facing Facts with an international network and expertise, which will benefit both our customers and our employees. The fit between our companies is excellent. We have complementary skills and share the same vision and ideas about quality, profitability and international expansion. This merger helps Facing Facts in its quest to become the top Internet company in the Netherlands.”

Facing Facts core business is development and implementation of applications based on webtechnology. The company offers high quality internetservices and tailormade solutions within webdevelopment, systemsdevelopment, hosting and ISP/ASP-services. Facing Facts has an experienced management team with a clear focus on profitability and long term customer relations, as well as a history that since the founding of the company in 1994 have been characterize by steady growth, both in revenues and numer of employees.

Among the offered services are consultancy, development of concepts, webdesign, solutions for internet-, intranet and e-commerce, online payment, security, internet games, software development, webcam-solutions, webmarketing, WAP-solutions and hosting related services and products.

The purchase price is in total NLG 33 m, of which 74 percent will be paid in cash to external investors, and the remaining part to the founder and Managing Director of Facing Facts, Stefanie Lion, in cash and in 227.494 newly issued Adcore shares. Facing Facts will be consolidated as of July 1. The integrationprocess will be initiated immediately and the Facing Facts employees will take part in the first common meeting already on June 27, in connection with the ongoing internal Adcore Roadshow arriving in Düsseldorf.

Stockholm 19 June 2000
Adcore AB (publ)

http://www.facingfacts.nl/

For more information, please contact:
Göran Wågström, CEO/President, Adcore, tel +46 (0)70 526 2758,
goran.wagstrom@adcore.com
Stefanie Lion, Managing Director, Facing Facts, tel +31 655 30 76 66,
s.lion@facingfacts.nl
Ulf Karnell, Senior VP, Corporate Communications, Adcore,
tel +46 (0)70 514 1739, ulf.karnell@adcore.com
Frans Benson, Senior VP, Investor Relations, Adcore,
tel +46 (0)70 510 7095, frans.benson@adcore.com

Please visit our press room on the web:
http://www.adcore.com/html/press_room/press_room_en.html

Adcore—Digital Business Creators [ http://www.adcore.com ] Information Highway and Connecta merged on 6 June, adopting the new corporate name Adcore AB, thereby creating Europe’s pre-eminent digital business creators focused on strategy and business-to-business solutions. The new group will have a very secure platform for sustained high-paced international expansion. Adcore currently has an employee headcount of over 1,200 (1,400 including the acquisition of berens/partner in Germany) at 10 locations in Sweden, as well as in Norway, Denmark, Finland, the UK and Germany. The objective is to have a minimum headcount of 2,000 by the end of the year, with sustained international expansion and growth, plus retained profitability. The share is quoted on OM Stockholm Exchange’s O List (Symbol: IHWY). Göran Wågström is Adcore’s CEO and President, with Christer Jacobsson the Executive Chairman. Adcore provides solutions for corporations including ABB, Ericsson, SEB, Telia, Telenor, SAS, Skandia, Folksam, Scania, Vattenfall, Lufthansa, Codan, Statoil, SAF, Svenska Volkswagen, Swiss Valore and Thomson Travel Group (Fritidsresor)

Für Pressekontakte in Deutschland:
Barbara Schmitz, Corporate Communications Adcore Deutschland
(berens/partner AG), Tel.: +49 (0)211-39 00 4-134,
b.schmitz@berensp.com , Postanschrift: Kaistr. 16a, 40221 Düsseldorf

Zu den bereits genannten Kunden kommen in Deutschland die der
berens/partner AG hinzu, hier ein Auszug:
Deutsche Renault AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt
(DM-Online), Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband und über 220 Spar-
kassen, Ostdeutsche Landesbausparkasse AG, IKB Deutsche Industriebank
AG, HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt, Mannesmann AG, Henkel KGaA,
VW Nutzfahrzeuge, Janssen Cilag, Bayer AG, SIG Combibloc

Bei Abdruck Beleg erbeten.