Esat Telecom Group plc Acquires BridgeCom Group.DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 1998--Esat Telecom Group plc (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : ESATY) (`the Group') has acquired BridgeCom Group Limited, a networking systems integration company which designs, installs and maintains Local Area Networks (LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. ) and Wide Area Networks (WAN) for the corporate market in Ireland. The purchase price for BridgeCom Group was IR(pound)5.5 million with an additional IR(pound)2.5 million payable on an earn-out basis over the next two years. The acquisition of BridgeCom Group by Esat Telecom Group is a strategic move which will allow Esat Telecom to extend its portfolio of services to its customers by adding networking solutions and systems integration services. As Esat Telecom continues to expand its position as a broadband company, the acquisition will allow the company to service customers in total networking terms from desk to desk through its local, national and international SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) The European counterpart to SONET. See SONET. SDH - Synchronous Digital Hierarchy fiber optic network. BridgeCom Group was established in 1994 by Garry Connolly, Hugh Daly, Ger O' Mahony, Paul O' Leary and Liam Malone and now employs 75 people at its offices in Dublin and in Cork. Vivian Murray has been Chairman to the group since its formation. It currently supplies services to companies including Dell Computers, Gateway and Iona Technologies IONA Technologies, NASDAQ: IONA, began life as a campus company in Trinity College, Dublin and was founded by Chris Horn, Annrai O'Toole, Colin Newman and Seán Baker.[1][2] IONA maintains headquarter offices in Dublin, Boston and Tokyo. . BridgeCom Group had a turnover of IR(pound)7.0 million and net assets Net assets The difference between total assets on the one hand and current liabilities and noncapitalized long-term liabilities on the other hand. net assets See owners' equity. of IR(pound)2.3 million as at 31 March 1998. BridgeCom Group, which was advised by ABN Amro ABN AMRO Algemene Bank Nederland-Amsterdam Roterdam Bank (Dutch bank) , and Pam Kearney of O'Hare and Associates on its take-over, will become a division within Esat Telecom Group plc which comprises Ireland's business telecommunications company See telecom company. , Esat Telecom and corporate Internet Service Provider Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. , Esat Net (formerly EUnet Ireland) as well as 45% of GSM mobile phone operator, Esat Digifone. "Over the last year, Esat Telecom has constructed its own SDH fiber optic backbone network A backbone network provides a path for the exchange of information between different LANs or subnetworks.[1] A backbone can tie together diverse networks in the same building, in different buildings in a campus environment, or over wide areas. linking buildings to buildings, cities to cities and country to country. BridgeCom Group allows us to add to this by providing desk-to-desk networking to our customers. As one of Ireland's leading providers of networking solutions, BridgeCom Group will greatly assist us in designing, installing and supporting a portfolio of seamless desk-to-desk networking solutions to customers," said Mr. Sean Corkery, Chief Operations Officer, Esat Telecom. Commenting on this acquisition, Mr. Paul O'Leary, Managing Director, BridgeCom Group said: "The skills and experience that we bring to the Group, allied to Esat Telecom's strength and position in the marketplace, provides us with a unique platform from which to grow the company even further." "As part of Esat Telecom Group, BridgeCom will play a pivotal role in delivering fully comprehensive, end-to-end solutions to customers encompassing everything from structured cabling Structured Cabling is defined as building or campus telecommunications cabling infrastructure that consists of a number of standardized smaller elements (hence structured) called subsystems. , Local Area Network (LAN) electronics and Wide Area Network (WAN) connectivity, to the carrier services that Esat Telecom currently provides and will offer in the future," added Mr. O'Leary. At 31 March 1998, Esat Telecom provided integrated telecommunications services to 3,776 corporate customers or 24% of its current target market of companies with monthly long distance spending of greater than IR(pound)300 or $408 per month. At this date, Esat Telecom employed 277 people and has offices in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Ardee. BridgeCom Group focuses on three inter-related business areas: --Network Design BridgeCom Group designs and supplies networks within a building, between two or more buildings locally, or between buildings that are geographically distant. When designing such a network, an essential feature is the specification and configuration of the active components such as hubs, routers and switches which direct and control the flow of information within the network. In addition, considerable emphasis is placed on planning the migration of IT systems from a customer's old network to its new network to ensure that the risk of disruption is minimized. --Structured Cabling and Installation Structured cabling projects involve the installation of cabling within an office or building with sufficient outlets to allow moves and changes within that office or building to take place while seeking to minimize the need for any additional wiring during the life of the structured cabling system. --Support Services, Outsourcing, Monitoring and Maintenance BridgeCom Group believes the increasing demand for data, voice and video networks will be accompanied by a continuing increase in demand for the technical knowledge and expertise required to support and maintain them. In order to address this growing market, BridgeCom established its network support services support services Psychology Non-health care-related ancillary services–eg, transportation, financial aid, support groups, homemaker services, respite services, and other services division in 1995 to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. the rapidly expanding market for professional services (job) professional services - A department of a supplier providing consultancy and programming manpower for the supplier's products. . CONTACT: IRELAND Financial & Corporate Communications Corporate communications is the process of facilitating information and knowledge exchanges with internal and key external groups and individuals that have a direct relationship with an enterprise. Ltd. Brian Harmon + 353 1 676 0168 or Esat Telecom Sean Corkery + 353 1 661 6010 or UNITED STATES Dewe Rogerson Inc. Cindy Lyman/Juanita Gutierrez 212/688-6840 |
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