12th Sep 2007 10:16
Lonrho PLC12 September 2007 12 September 2007 Lonrho Plc ("Lonrho" or "the Company") COMPLETION OF ACQUISITION LAUNCHES LONRHO INTO THE AFRICAN IT INDUSTRY Further to the announcement on 7 June 2007, Lonrho (AIM : LONR), theconglomerate with a diverse portfolio of African investments, is pleased toannounce that it has now completed the acquisition of 65% of one of Mozambique'slargest commercial Information Technology Solution Providers, SociedadeComercial Bytes & Pieces, Limitada ("Bytes & Pieces"). Bytes & Pieces providesturnkey network solutions, maintenance and support to Mozambique business, NGO'sand Government organisations. Lonrho acquired Bytes & Pieces for $2.34 million (in cash) and will take up twoof the four Board positions. The two founders of Bytes & Pieces, Vijay Thadaniand Veronica Miller, will together retain 35% and remain on the Board. Bytes &Pieces is an authorised distributor of Dell equipment in Mozambique, providingEnterprise Solutions on a Dell hardware platform. It is also a MicrosoftCertified Partner and an authorised distributor for CISCO Systems, MGE UPSSystems and Legrand networking products. Bytes & Pieces plans to expand outside Mozambique under the name of CompleteEnterprise Solutions ("CES") by setting up a distribution division for highquality networking products and an Enterprise solutions implementation divisionbased upon the Dell hardware platform. David Lenigas, Lonrho Chairman and CEO commented: "We are delighted to have completed on the acquisition of Bytes & Pieces.Lonrho intends to build on the success of Bytes & Pieces and replicate thebusiness model built up in Mozambique through other countries in Africa,starting with the company's first office in Johannesburg. We believe thebusiness expansion of CES will assist the growth of the African economy to meetthe IT demands across the continent." ENQUIRIES Lonrho Plc +44 (0) 20 7016 5105David Lenigas, Chief Executive +44 (0)7881 825 378Emma Priestley, Executive Director +44 (0)7867 785 177 Pelham PRCharles Vivian +44 (0) 20 7743 6672 +44 (0) 7977 297903Alisdair Haythornthwaite +44 (0) 20 7743 6676 +44 (0) 7714 721379 Collins Stewart EuropeHugh Field +44 (0) 20 7523 8350Jonny Sloan NOTES TO EDITORS About BYTES & PIECES: Bytes & Pieces provides turnkey network solutions, maintenance and support toMozambique business, NGO's and Government organisations. It featured at 53 inthe KPMG "Top 100 Companies in Mozambique" survey in 2004 and is an authoriseddistributor of Dell equipment in Mozambique, providing Enterprise Solutions on aDell hardware platform. The IT company is a Microsoft Certified Partner and was awarded the SystemBuilder Partner of the Year 2006 for East and Southern Africa. Bytes & Pieces isalso an authorized distributor or value added reseller for CISCO Systems, MGEUPS Systems and Legrand networking products. Bytes & Pieces recorded pre-tax profits of US$854,000 in 2006, on revenue ofUS$8.6 million. About LONRHO: Lonrho Plc is an expanding conglomerate that is rapidly growing a successfulbusiness throughout Africa. The Company is listed on the London AIM stockexchange (LONR). Lonrho is strategically focused on the development of businessopportunities in infrastructure, transportation, support services and naturalresources. The Company has over 20,000 shareholders and substantialinstitutional backing to support its mandate to build a profitable business thatplays a fundamental role in the development of the African economy. Since 2006, the Company has invested in or acquired control of: • Hotel Cardoso - www.hotelcardoso.co.mz (retained) • Nare Diamonds - www.narediamonds.com • Brinkley Mining - www.brinkley-mining.com • Luba Freeport - www.lubafreeport.com • Fly540 - www.fly540.com • Norse Air - www.norseair.co.za • Swissta Holdings - www.swissta.com • Countermine - www.countermine.com • SA Independent Liner Services This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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