Aqua Online today announced the acquisition of Adram, an independent e-strategy and customer relationship management (CRM) consulting company. The acquisition, which takes effect from 1 July 2000, will be transacted at a maximum value of R10 million through a combination of cash and Aqua Online shares.
Aqua, which reverse listed on the JSE venture capital sector in May, forecast earnings for the year ending 30 June 2000 of R3.93 million, with headline earnings per share of 3c. It projects earnings for the 2001 financial year of R13.2 million and headline earnings per share of 6.1c.
Brent Shahim, MD of Aqua Online South Africa, points out that although the acquisition should have no significant impact on the current year`s earnings per share forecast released in Aqua Online`s pre-listing circular earlier this year, it is anticipated that the integration of staff and infrastructure will provide enduring benefits.
"Our rationale for the acquisition was clear. Aqua Online currently provides a strong implementation and e-commerce administration competence. Through Adram we can add an experienced layer of e-commerce strategy and e-CRM consulting. We are already successfully working together on joint projects leveraging off our complementary skills," says Shahim.
Adram director Riaan de Jager says the company identified a need to extend the range of services it offered to assist its clients in the roll out of the solutions it recommended.
"We were approached by a number of e-services companies which invited us to become part of their organisations but, until Aqua Online, none of these companies presented the right mix in terms of culture, strategy and services," says De Jager.
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