After poor results, lay-offs and 10m pounds in restructuring costs, Cobol champion Micro Focus Group Plc is fortifying itself by acquisition. The target is Millennium (UK) Limited, a privately owned Year 2000 consulting specialist based in Bournemouth. Millennium employs around 40 consultants and had a revenues of 1.0m pounds last year. The deal is worth 4.0m pounds to Millennium’s share holders, primarily the board of directors, who all intend to stay on after the deal goes ahead in April. Millennium will continue to operate as a separate division, but hopes to penetrate the market for larger mission critical projects with the greater mass of Micro Focus and its mainframe user base behind it. Conversely, Micro Focus sees the deal as enabling it to provide more comprehensive solutions to its customers.
