Business
Acquisition and Placing
Acquisition and Placing.
About this update from Iomart Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Iomart Group PLC\n07 March 2007\n\n\n\n IOMART GROUP PLC\n\n\n\n ('iomart' or the 'Company')\n\n\n\n Acquisition of a controlling interest in the data centre company Ezee DSL\n Limited\n\n and\n\n Proposed placing of 20,000,000 new ordinary shares\n\n\n\nHighlights\n\n\n\n • iomart enters the data centre market with a conditional agreement to\n acquire a 51 per cent stake in Ezee DSL Limited (to be renamed Easyspace\n Datacentres Ltd) for £4.8 million in cash.\n\n\n\n • KBC Peel Hunt has conditionally placed 20,000,000 Placing Shares to raise\n £11 million at a price of 55 pence per share\n\n\n\n • The Directors believe that they are acquiring their 51 per cent. stake at\n a significant discount to the replacement cost of iomart's share of the\n equipment, which the Directors estimate to be £14m\n\n\n\n • The Directors are confident that the delivery of the Easyspace\n Datacentres' business plan will result in iomart achieving entry into a\n profitable and growing business at a relatively low earnings multiple.\n\n\n • EGM to approve, inter alia, the Investment Agreement, to be held at the \n offices of iomart Group plc on 30 March 2007 at 10:00am.\n\n\n\nCertain definitions apply throughout this announcement and your attention is\ndrawn to the table at the end of this announcement where these definitions are\nset out in full.\n\n\n\nAngus MacSween, Chief Executive Officer said:\n\n\n\nThe Directors believe that the acquisition of a significant amount of high\nquality data centre capacity which is close to being operational would, at this\npoint in the cycle, be highly opportunistic. Existing data centres are believed\nto be close to capacity and new data centres are time-consuming to build and fit\nout. Independent research suggests that occupancy rates for carrier neutral data\ncentres will be close to capacity by the end of 2007 and that prices for rack\nspace will nearly double from 2006 prices over the next three years.\n\n\n\nWe look forward to working with Dominic Marrocco (owner of Ezee DSL Limited) who\nhas a proven track record in the data centres market and believe his skills,\nexperience and enthusiasm will be highly beneficial to the group'.\n\n\n\nFor further information:\n\n\n\niomart Group plc\nAngus MacSween 0141 931 6400\nNick Kuenssberg 07860 635 191\n\n\n\nKBC Peel Hunt 020 7418 8900\nOliver S...