Globo Acquires Sourcebits Inc

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 30 June 2014

GLOBO plc

("Globo" or "the Group")

Globo Acquires Sourcebits Inc.,

San Francisco based Mobile Application Development Specialist

Globo plc (LSE-AIM:GBO) the international provider of enterprise mobility management solutions and software as a service, announces it has acquired the services division of Sourcebits Inc., ("Sourcebits" or "the Company" http://www.sourcebits.com), a developer of mobile applications and proprietary products for enterprise customers.

This bolt-on acquisition is in line with Globo's strategic objective to build its presence in the enterprise mobility market, and will accelerate its progress as a Mobile Application Development Platform ("MADP") provider. Sourcebits will become part of Globo's Mobility Business Services division ("MBS"), providing substantial resources that will allow Globo to expand its offerings faster and to a broader marketplace, particularly the United States. Sourcebits' scale will immediately provide Globo with more powerful and compelling assets to compete for new clients and develop custom mobile applications with its flagship GO!Enterprise platform.

The services division of Sourcebits is based in San Francisco, California, with a significant development centre in Bangalore, India. Sourcebits has an established client base including Intel, SAP, P&G, The Coca-Cola Co., Bank of America, Columbia University and Hershey's. There is minimal overlap between the two companies' client bases.

Globo expects that the acquisition of Sourcebits will be earnings accretive in the first year as the Company has secured a significant pipeline of new contracts, providing strong visibility for 2014. The consideration, which is not disclosed as a selling condition, is paid in cash and the transaction is structured on a debt free and cash free basis.

Barry Ariko, Chairman of Globo, commented:

"The acquisition of Sourcebits is another significant step for Globo as we address the massive opportunity of the Mobile Application Development Platform market for enterprise customers.

The quality of skills, clients and strong branding that Sourcebits adds to Globo will allow us to compete for more and larger Mobile Application Development projects and take advantage of our GO!Enterprise/ GO!AppZone MADP offering.

Adding 167 Sourcebits' employees in San Francisco and Bangalore further strengthens our U.S. presence and establishes our presence in India. We believe a global footprint can offer Globo a significant advantage in human resources, skillset and cost base.

Having delivered strong results for 2013, and with current trading strong and organic growth underpinning our expansion, we are confident and excited about our future success."

END

About Sourcebits

Sourcebits was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in San Francisco, where it has the majority of its development, sales and marketing personnel and resources. Sourcebits operates an extensive application development and technical support centre in Bangalore, India.

The Company is led by its founder Rohit Singal, and backed by two major global VC funds, , which have invested in the Company since 2011. 

The Company has 167 employees and consultants, and in the year to March 2014 generated (unaudited) turnover of $8.2 million and EBITDA (under IFRS) of $1.8 million.

Revenues from the US market represented 59% of total revenues in 2014, followed by APAC at 21% and MENA at 10%.

Sourcebits specialises in five service areas:

· Mobile Roadmap Build, involving consulting and prototype development for the launch of new mobile applications;

· Remodel Software development, converting existing applications onto a mobile platform;

· Execution Services for mobile deployment;

· Validation and quality control;

· Maintenance and Support services post project completion.

Sourcebits has been recognised by both Forrester Research and Gartner for the quality of its services, the latter naming Sourcebits as a "Cool Vendor" in its April 2014 survey, "Cool Vendors in Services 2014". Gartner noted, "Sourcebits has developed more than 500 applications for multiple mobile, Web and desktop platforms, with more than 30 reaching the top 10 in their genres in global application marketplaces, such as iTunes."

Sourcebits was also ranked by SourcingLine, a Washington DC-based research and IT firm, as one of three leaders amongst the top ten India-based application developers.

Sourcebits owns the IPR for Chocolate Chip-UI, an open source mobile framework. With support of HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript, the framework reproduces the user interface of iOS, Android and WindowsPhone. The UI is licensed under the BSD license, but will offer a commercial licence for larger companies and enterprises, who may also request other services and support. Chocolate Chip-UI competes with other popular mobile frameworks like jQuery mobile, Sencha touch, or Zepto and will add significant value to Globo's IPR.

About the transaction

The purpose of the acquisition is to access and utilise the extensive developer resources, customer relationships and brand name of Sourcebits, in order to augment the resources Globo brings to its rapidly-growing MBS corporate client base.

After Sourcebits is acquired by Globo, the Company will continue to operate under its own brand and under the control of Globo's MBS division.

Following the transaction, assets of US$1.57 million and liabilities of US$0.97 million, including US$0.347 million of deferred revenues, and approximately 167 employees will transfer to Globo.

Post-acquisition key members of Sourcebits' management and development team will retain their positions within the new integrated structure.

CONTACTS

About Globo plc

Globo plc is a global provider of complete enterprise mobility solutions and Software-as-a-Service ("SaaS"). Our GO!Enterprise (EMM) and GO!AppZone (MADP) offerings help businesses expand their engagement with employees and customers through the mobile channel via a secure and extensible environment that runs on all smart devices. The Group operates internationally through subsidiaries and offices in US, UK, Europe, Middle East and South East Asia. Globo was recognised in the 2014 Gartner Enterprise Mobility Management Magic Quadrant report (http://www.globoplc.com/en-GB/gartner-magic-quadrant-for-enterprise-mobility-management-2014)

For more information visit www.globoplc.com.