AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands - July 7, 2003 - Icon Medialab / Lost Boys Group and Escador announce that the internet and CRM consultancy group within Escador is being acquired by Icon Medialab / Lost Boys Group. Escador will continue to offer management advisory services in The Netherlands known under the name Escador, and has formed an alliance with Icon Medialab / Lost Boys Group.
The acquisition by Icon/Lost Boys includes former Escador operations in Munich, London and the IT division in The Netherlands. The Munich and London operations are focused on CRM system development and integration primarily around Siebel based solutions, working for British Telecom, Hewlett Packard and many others. The Escador operations in The Netherlands provide internet design consulting, and integration services similar to Icon/Lost Boys.
It is anticipated that the combination of the former Escador units into Icon/Lost Boys will be uneventful and will have an immediate positive impact to revenues, adding € 8 mln of profitable volume and approx. 40 consultants and engineers. Icon/Lost Boys will have a new presence in the London market, which is expected to be an area of strong growth. The Munich operation of Escador will complement already existing business activities conducted in Hamburg and Berlin. Theo Cordesius, COO for Icon Medialab and Lost Boys stated, "This acquisition is small in size but significant to us considering the strong management and talent of the people as well as their technology focus. We see this as an opportunity to increase the type and value of services offered to our clients". Leen Zevenbergen, CEO of Escador commented, "We have been close to Icon/Lost Boys and their management for a long time and feel that this combination is a natural fit. We will move forward with our core business within Escador for which the Company was originally founded, and with our new alliance with Icon/Lost Boys look for opportunities to work together to help our mutual clients implement technology solutions that support their corporate strategy".
The addition of strong CRM business and technology competencies to Icon/Lost Boys enhances current offerings and solutions to Icon/Lost Boys' corporate client base. Icon/Lost Boys specializes in the development of internet and mobile solutions for corporations to increase customer interaction and sales. Although most large corporations have implemented some form of CRM system as part of their enterprise systems plans, few have been able to leverage this investment by integrating its functionality with customers doing commerce via the internet. Icon/Lost Boys has been a leader in this integration to maximize the use and productivity of corporate e-commerce.
The formal closing of the transaction is subject to the approval of the shareholders of Icon Medialab / Lost Boys. However, anticipating that approval, the former Escador operations are being integrated into the Lost Boys organization.
IconMedialab / Lost Boys Group
IconMedialab and Lost Boys merged in January 2002 to become one of the world-leading IT professional service providers. The group provides user-driven solutions through innovative technology for all-digital channels, with global reach and local expertise. The group has developed solutions for a broad range of clients, including Audi, Q8, Goodyear, Postbank, KLM, Prada and MasterCard International. The IconMedialab stock is traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange O-List (ICON). For more information:
www.iconmedialab.com and www.lostboys.com
Escador
Escador is a boardroom consultancy firm focusing on innovations with large multinationals in order to create more revenue for their customers. Escador started this operation in 2000 and has been very successful in doing so for clients including KPN, KLM, TPG, E-plus, ABN-AMRO. Related to Escador is the Escador Innovation Board, a group of entrepreneurs, politicians and members of the academic society and has as its chairman Paul Nouwen, the former CEO of the ANWB. For more
information: www.escador.com
For more information, please contact:
Icon/Lost Boys: Karin Groen, Phone: +31 20 460 4500, email:
karin.groen@lostboys.nl
Escador: Mark Keur, Phone: +31 30 229 9100, email: info@escador.com