Net cash retained within Bywater will be no less than £0.5m at completion.
Axon designs, implements and manages business systems for large multinational companies with a particular focus on the needs of organisations which use SAP. Axon customers include Centrica, Xerox and Hitachi.
Bywater provides business consultancy services to large multinational companies which are undergoing major change. Bywater is a UK based company with offices in the US, Middle East and Australia. Customers include Vodafone, Anglo American and Cadbury Schweppes.
The acquisition of Bywater will accelerate the implementation of Axon’s strategy to create a more comprehensive and international customer proposition. Axon and Bywater first worked together in 1997 and the two companies have shared several key customers including BP and Orange.
Highlights:
Axon has acquired Bywater and subsidiaries for £7 million in cash and loan notes – net cash retained within Bywater will be no less than £0.5m at completion.
In 2000, Bywater’s turnover was £6.1m and the group generated adjusted profit before tax of £750k.
Bywater key managers will be involved in the management of the enlarged Axon Group.
The benefits of the acquisition of Bywater are expected to be:
The provision of a world-class business consulting capability including process and vertical industry expertise.
A large referenceable customer base of multinational companies and a route to market for Axon’s existing implementation and support propositions.
An international infrastructure with employees, offices and customers in the USA, the Middle East and Australia.
Additional strength to Axon’s management team.
The acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings-enhancing after amortisation of goodwill and before one-off integration expenses.
Commenting on the acquisition, Mark Hunter, Chief Executive, said:
Axon’s acquisition of Bywater accelerates progress towards Axon’s strategic goals to broaden its propositions and geographic coverage. We now have a world class business consulting capability and offices in the UK, USA, Middle East and Australia through which to address our target market: the more than 13,000 companies which have chosen SAP as their business infrastructure. This acquisition and the partnership with Intel which we also announced today, enable us to offer a more comprehensive proposition to our clients and provide us with an important new route to market.
