Atex to Acquire Unisys Media Assets

By: E&P Staff Atex Group Ltd., Reading, England, a provider of media software solutions and services that is backed by the Norwegian investment company Kistefos AS, today agreed to acquire the business assets of Unisys Media.

Worldwide technology services company Unisys Corp. earlier had announced plans to divest businesses not central to its core strategy. Unisys Media provides large-scale news production, wire service management and digital asset management solutions to more than 225 newspapers in 15 countries.

Unisys Media's software was developed in the early 1990s by Milan-based Unisys Italia, and many of its early customers were Italian newspapers. In the mid-90s it won its first North American customer, The Gazette, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Today, Unisys software is used by a variety of U.S. dailies -- from Times-Shamrock Communications in Scranton, Pa., to the Chicago-area's Sun-Times Media Group and Los Angeles Newspaper Group, and from the The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash., to the Denver Newspaper Agency and Philadelphia Media Holdings.

Unisys acquired the advertising software business of Publishing Partners International, Bedford, N.H., in 1999. This fall, Unisys Media announced a new release of its Hermes editorial software, including integration of Adobe CS2.

Atex Group CEO John Hawkins said in a statement that the acquisition "will strengthen our market penetration, especially in those parts of the world where, to date, we have not been as strong as we would have wished." Hawkins also said the companies "share almost identical product road maps, and this deal will enable us to accelerate development of solutions."

Atex said it will offer 10-year support contracts, including upgrades for current products.

In the same statement announcing the acquisition, Unisys Global Communications & Media President Glenn James said "the synergy between the organizations, SOA technologies, skills, and shared vision of the people, will make this agreement beneficial for all concerned. It also provides our clients with the security of knowing that they will be in partnership with the world's largest publishing software solutions provider."

Atex raised more than $50 million to fund the acquisition, providing what it described as "adequate working capital to fund the enlarged group and ensuring the effective integration of the two businesses."

Atex also said it will be considering other acquisitions.

With Unisys Media employees, Atex will employ nearly 500 people, creating what it calls "the largest digital content management and multimedia software delivery capability in the world, generating global revenues in excess of $90 million."