28 July 2003 - Lawson Software (Nasdaq: LWSN) today announced the acquisition of Numbercraft Ltd.[announced in the US on 25th July 2003], a privately held consultancy and provider of sophisticated analytic applications for retailers and consumer packaged goods companies. The acquisition adds unique quantitative measurement and analysis capabilities to Lawson's Retail suite and continues the company's strategy of enriching its enterprise applications with targeted technology and intellectual property purchases.
The acquisition of Numbercraft is effective immediately, and terms of the deal were not disclosed. The impact of the acquisition on the company's fiscal 2004 operating results is expected to be immaterial.
Numbercraft, based in Oxford, England, has developed a strong following among leading retailers and consumer goods companies in the United Kingdom by using advanced mathematics to help convert large volumes of customer, product and sales data into actionable information. The company counts the four largest grocery retailers in Britain and several of the world's largest consumer goods companies among its customers.
Lawson plans to continue Numbercraft's successful consulting business for both the global retail and consumer packaged goods markets. Additionally, Lawson plans to introduce several packaged analytics applications based on Numbercraft's technology. These applications will integrate with both Lawson and legacy retail applications.
"Lawson's acquisition of Numbercraft exemplifies our vertical market strategy, which strongly differentiates Lawson from its competitors," said James DeSocio, Lawson's executive vice president for Retail. "In retail, we've already provided our customers with a broad set of leading merchandising and back-office applications designed to maximise net margins. We're now adding very sophisticated applications for analysing customer behaviour and retail revenue streams, designed to help retailers address both revenue and margin challenges."
Lawson's industry-focused software solutions enable retailers to integrate the systems they use to run and grow their businesses. Lawson customers include five of the top 10 U.S.-based retailers, eight of the top 20 apparel retailers, seven of the top 25 grocery chains, 23 of the top 100 restaurant chains and 20 of the top 100 specialty chains.
About Lawson Software
Lawson Software provides business process software solutions that help services organisations in the healthcare, retail, professional services, public sector, financial services, and other strategic markets achieve competitive advantage. Lawson's solutions include enterprise performance management, distribution, financials, human resources, procurement, merchandising and services automation. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., Lawson has offices and affiliates serving North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Additional information about Lawson is available at www.lawson.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements contain statements of intent, belief or current expectations of Lawson Software, Inc., and its management. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The company is not obligated to update forward-looking statements based on circumstances or events that occur in the future. In addition to factors discussed above, risks and uncertainties that may cause such differences include but are not limited to: a decline in general economic conditions; uncertainties in the software industry; global military conflicts; terrorist attacks in the United States, and any future events in response to these developments; changes in conditions in the company's targeted service industries; increased competition and other risk factors listed in the company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and as included in other documents the company files from time to time with the Commission.