Lynx Holdings Plc, the Sheffield-based computer services and communications group, has underpinned upbeat year-end results with plans for two acquisitions. The company is placing new shares to raise UKP4.6m for the purchase of Financial Systems Ltd and Chess Valley Computers Ltd, which will take it into financial services. The group’s current computer company focuses on turnkey systems for car resellers. It started this by buying Prism Ltd in September 1992, a company which had bought itself out from Radius Plc earlier that year. In October this year, Prism merged with Signal Ltd, a firm in the same business which Lynx acquired in July this year. Lynx’s current confidence stems from its postive year-end results; net profit for the year to September 30 was up 320% to UKP559,000, and sales climbed 45% to UKP10.8m and the company upped the dividend 25% to 1.25 pence with a 0.95 pence final. It is paying UKP2.9m for Financial Systems, UKP2.4m for Chess Valley. A total UKP3.3m in cash from placed shares will be paid to the vendors of the two companies, while the rest will be paid directly in shares, with disposal over the next three years subject to restriction. The Chess Valley vendors must keep their shares for three years while the former owners of Financial Systems Ltd can sell 33% of their shares in
