Software and consultancy house Data Dimensions Inc is set to splash out $19m in cash and shares to acquire Pyramid Information Services Inc. Pyramid manages computer systems for corporations and government organizations and the purchase will enable Data Dimension to diversify away from its core Year 2000 business, an issue that has caused concern for the company in the past. Last November Bellevue, Washington-based Data Dimension ditched plans to purchase Millennium UK Ltd owing to worries that, come 2000, the company will be somewhat redundant (CI No 3,053). The acquisition will see Data Dimensions entering into the facilities management and Web site management markets, as well as gaining additional Year 2000 testing capabilities. The transaction is expected to be completed in about 60 days, according to Data Dimensions whose president and chief operating officer Larry Martin said: We view this acquisition as highly strategic. Martin believes the testing capabilities acquired in the purchase to account for half of the headline-grabbing sum of $600bn that the Gartner Group reckons it will cost companies to fix their Year 2000 problems. The company says that when the purchase is complete, it will be able to offer Pyramid’s testing facilities to its Year 2000 consulting clients as well as its Year 2000 global contingent customers.
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