Computers & Electronics 1998 - Company News Summary

GEC has agreed a £1.8bn deal to merge its space satellite operations with those of Lagardere of France, Daimler-Chrysler Aerospace of Germany, Alenia Spazio of Italy and British Aerospace.
24-Dec-1998

Vision, the manufacturer of imaging semiconductors, is being acquired by ST Microelectronics of Paris for £23m.
23-Dec-1998

NTL is acquiring the telecommunications business of Eastern Group for £91m, which will give it a fibre optic network covering the south and east of England as well as 121 mobile phone radio masts in East Anglia.
23-Dec-1998

Guardian iT is acquiring the mainframe disaster recovery business of Debis Systemhaus of Germany for £5m.
22-Dec-1998

Charriol has announced a reverse takeover of Virtual Internet, the supplier of internet hosting services, in a £15m deal.
21-Dec-1998

Logica has expanded its telecommunications business with the acquisition of two companies - Aethos Communication Systems for £47m and DDV Group for £16m.
19-Dec-1998

DCS is acquiring Logistics Application Software, the Dutch software company, for about £7m.
19-Dec-1998

Software AG of Germany is planning to double the workforce at its Derby headquarters, with the creation of 150 jobs.
18-Dec-1998

Seagate Software is to set up a European head office in Reading in February by transferring 100 staff from Maidenhead, and an additional 200 jobs could be created over the next few years.
18-Dec-1998

Experian is to open a telephone centre in Preston to handle calls for other companies, and 450 jobs will be created over the next 18 months.
17-Dec-1998

Zergo, the computer security company, is acquiring Baltimore Technologies of Dublin, in a £35m deal.
17-Dec-1998

The government has shortlisted four potential sites on Merseyside to locate the new national Criminal Records Bureau, and the project will create 1,200 new jobs.
15-Dec-1998

Misys is to acquire C-ATS Software, the US supplier of risk management software, for $60m.
15-Dec-1998

Scottish Telecom is to create about 500 jobs at its Call Centre Services division in Glasgow, to cope with an increase in business.
10-Dec-1998

Global TeleSystems, the US-based operator of European telecoms services, has acquired Esprit Telecom for £456m.
09-Dec-1998

Plasmon, the data storage company, is acquiring Philips LMS from Royal Philips Electronics for up to £16m.
09-Dec-1998

WorldCom is planning to set up a telecommunications switch centre at the Bilton Business Centre in Portsmouth, employing 11 staff.
07-Dec-1998

Planit Holdings is acquiring Cabinet Vision, the US software company, for £6m.
07-Dec-1998

Apar Infotech and Polaris Software, two Indian software companies, are said to be planning to create 500 jobs in London.
07-Dec-1998

Utopia Systems, the Royston-based software distributor, has been acquired by Lilly Software Associates, as part of the US company's plans to expand in Europe.
04-Dec-1998

CCS Media of Chesterfield has bought Nottingham computer supplies company Euribon from the receivers, saving 15 jobs.
04-Dec-1998

4Front Technologies is acquiring I-NEA, the French on-site computer services business, from Siemens Nixdorf for £2.5m.
03-Dec-1998

Mentmore Abbey is selling a 50.1% stake in British Data Management, the corporate archiving business, to Iron Mountain of the US for £27m, and the new joint venture will look to expand into continental Europe.
03-Dec-1998

Torch Telecom is to invest £20m in a new phone network to serve businesses in Bristol, and will set up an office at the Aztec West Business Park to employ 28 people by next April.
02-Dec-1998

Caudwell has opened a mobile phone skills centre in Stoke as part of an ongoing expansion, and its airtime provider arm, Singlepoint 4U, is planning to create a further 50 jobs.
02-Dec-1998

The Foreign Office has announced plans to set up a secure email network, recruit an additional 375 diplomats and other staff, and sell off £100m of overseas properties.
28-Nov-1998

Orange is to create 300 jobs at a new mobile phone call centre in Peterlee, East Durham.
26-Nov-1998

British Telecom has acquired a 50% stake in Excite's UK internet business for £6m, and intends to launch Excite as an internet service provider.
26-Nov-1998

Skillsgroup has bought ISL, the supplier of business intelligence solutions, for a maximum £2.9m.
21-Nov-1998

Cable & Wireless Communications is acquiring the Irish business of Cable & Wireless, its majority shareholder, as part of a £30m infrastructure programme that will help it benefit from the liberalisation of the Irish market.
20-Nov-1998

Philips Business Communications is to move to new premises on the Cambridge Business Park and increase its workforce by 40 over the next six months.
19-Nov-1998

Oracle is planning to set up a £20m software support office at Blythe Valley Business Park in the West Midlands, creating up to 950 jobs.
17-Nov-1998

Datel Electronics is planning to build a new industrial unit and offices next to its existing base on Stone Business Park in Staffordshire, which will create up to 100 new jobs.
16-Nov-1998

Scottish Telecom is creating more than 100 jobs at its CallCentre Service in Glasgow, having won more contracts to operate call centres for third parties.
16-Nov-1998

Universal Scientific Industrial of Taiwan is planning to set up a £15m electronic components factory in Irvine, Scotland, creating up to 700 jobs over the next three years.
13-Nov-1998

Option Technologies International is to set up a new drilling department at its printed circuit boards factory in Haslingden, creating an unspecified number of new jobs.
12-Nov-1998

CMG has bought CMS Data Consult, the German computer services concern, for £3.3m.
12-Nov-1998

Sema Group UK has bought Meridian Information Systems, the Stockport-based supplier of systems to the bus industry, for £2.8m.
12-Nov-1998

Workplace Technologies has acquired LanBase Holdings, the network integrator, for £20m.
07-Nov-1998

ZEDA, the Nottingham-based IT solutions group, is opening a centre in Leeds which will create 50 jobs over the next year.
06-Nov-1998

Merlin Communications International has won planning permission to build eight satellite dishes and six control buildings in the grounds of the Cams Hall estate in Fareham, and more than 80 jobs could be created.
03-Nov-1998

Dixons is to recruit a further 25 people at its recently-opened mobile phone repair centre in Stoke.
02-Nov-1998

JWE Telecom is acquiring Midland Phones, the mobile phone distributor, for up to £9m.
02-Nov-1998

Quantica of Halifax is acquiring SWP, the specialist in the recruitment of technical staff, for an initial £6.7m.
02-Nov-1998

Hays has acquired Sitinfo, the French computer staff recruitment concern, for up to £13m.
30-Oct-1998

Kewill Systems has acquired Tracer Research, the US supplier of electronic commerce software, for $20m.
30-Oct-1998

NTL Telecommunications has acquired CymruNet, the Welsh internet service provider.
29-Oct-1998

Concept Systems, the Edinburgh-based seismic software firm, is to undergo a £36m management buy-out.
27-Oct-1998

Nortel Networks of Canada is to invest £4.7m in the expansion of its Belfast factory, creating 400 jobs.
27-Oct-1998

Lattice Semiconductor of the US has selected Hartham Park, near Corsham in Wiltshire, as the site for its European Research and Design Centre, and up to 100 engineering jobs will be created.
26-Oct-1998

Mondas is acquiring Reality Communications Scandinavia, the Norwegian intranet software company, for £1.8m.
26-Oct-1998

Torex, the Oxfordshire-based medical computer company, has acquired Hollowbrook Computer Services for £2.4m.
23-Oct-1998

Allstate Corporation of the US is to set up a £3.6m software support centre in Belfast, creating 250 jobs.
21-Oct-1998

Cisco Systems of the US is said to be close to announcing plans for a £7m high-tech research centre in the Edinburgh area, which could create up to 60 jobs.
19-Oct-1998

Yajima of Japan is opening a $6m plant in Ebbw Vale to make steel frames for television tubes, creating 110 jobs over the next two years.
19-Oct-1998

VideoWeb, the videoconferencing equipment company, is to create 80 jobs at a new call centre in Thatcham, Berkshire.
16-Oct-1998

Raytheon Systems of the US is to recruit a further 50 engineers and 30 manufacturing staff at its site in Harlow, Essex, as well as a further 20 manufacturing staff at its Glenrothes site.
15-Oct-1998

Panasonic is planning to create a further 150 jobs at its cellphones packaging and distribution plant in Portsmouth.
15-Oct-1998

Delta Business Computing has moved to new offices in Derby and is looking to recruit a further 50 staff over the next two years.
14-Oct-1998

Caudwell, the mobile phone company, is to create 50 new jobs in its Singlepoint 4U division in Stoke and Newcastle-under-Lyme in order to cope with growing demand for connections to the Vodafone network.
14-Oct-1998

The Web Factory of Newcastle-under-Lyme is planning to create 70 new jobs over the next 12 months due to rising demand for its intranet and extranet services.
14-Oct-1998

Segue Software of the US is to set up a worldwide technical support centre in Belfast, creating 45 new jobs over the next three years.
14-Oct-1998

FEGS, the Cambridgeshire-based engineering software company, has been acquired by Ohio-based International TechneGroup Incorporated for undisclosed terms.
12-Oct-1998

Archer Communications Systems is to create 120 new jobs in Hedge End near Southampton, having been appointed prime contractor for a £2bn project to supply the armed forces with an integrated battlefield communications system.
12-Oct-1998

St Modwen Developments has started work on a 23,000 sq ft European headquarters office building near Worcester, and the £3m project is pre-let to Milltronics UK.
12-Oct-1998

Cisco Systems of the US is considering plans to acquire a number of privately-owned UK technology companies.
09-Oct-1998

Xyratex of Havant is acquiring Matrix Components, the US computer repair company, for undisclosed terms.
09-Oct-1998

Karavale Enterprises is to invest £10m in a printed circuit board plant in Cwmbran, South Wales, with the creation of 400 jobs.
08-Oct-1998

Cap Gemini is planning to recruit a further 1,500 staff by the end of the year as the company continues to benefit from year 2000 work and from the outsourcing of IT requirements by large organisations.
06-Oct-1998

Computacenter, the supplier of IT systems, has formed an alliance with Microsoft to finance the training of 1000 new IT professionals in order to help the company install Microsoft systems.
05-Oct-1998

Logica is acquiring Carnegie Group, the US producer of customer management and decision support software, for £21m.
02-Oct-1998

EDS is to set up an office in Sheffield to provide a full range of computing services, and about 300 jobs will be created.
01-Oct-1998

International Rectifier Corp of the US is to set up a £25m electronics component plant at Penllergaer in the Swansea Valley, creating 500 jobs.
29-Sep-1998

Seagate Software of the US is to open an office in Reading town centre, at the £14m Aquis House.
25-Sep-1998

Adaptive Broadband, the spin-off from the Olivetti & Oracle Research Laboratory that provides high-speed Internet access by wireless, has been acquired by California Microwave for £6.5m.
25-Sep-1998

Datel Electronics is planning to expand its computer parts plant at Stone near Stoke, creating up to 100 jobs.
25-Sep-1998

Foxteq of Taiwan is to set up a £15m plant in Renfrew to make PC enclosures, creating over 500 jobs.
25-Sep-1998

Silicon Systems has opened a £1.5m design centre in Belfast and is looking to recruit a further 65 people.
25-Sep-1998

Harvey Nash Group is acquiring Inston, the Dutch supplier of computer systems staff, for £3.3m.
25-Sep-1998

Viridian is to set up a new subsidiary called Service and Systems Solutions to market services to local businesses in the areas of call centres, information technology, training, revenue and supply chain services, creating about 400 jobs.
23-Sep-1998

Bell Geospace of the US, IPRES of Norway, and Trihedral Engineering of Canada are to set up operations at the Aberdeen Science and Technology Park, with the creation of up to 200 jobs.
17-Sep-1998

Rasmi Electronics is to create a further 45 jobs at its new electronic components factory in Annfield Plain, County Durham.
16-Sep-1998

Personal Computer Sciences is to set up a computer assembly plant in Eaglescliffe on Teesside, which will provide an initial 100 jobs with a further 200 to be added within 18 months.
14-Sep-1998

Cable & Wireless is planning to invest a further £44m in Ireland, creating 300 jobs in Dublin and Shannon.
12-Sep-1998

Celeritek, the US telecommunications firm, to set up a £2m design centre in Belfast, creating 35 jobs.
10-Sep-1998

FirstTel Systems Corp, the US provider of software to the telecoms industry, is to set up a design and development centre in Glasgow with the creation of 50 jobs.
10-Sep-1998

Eidos is acquiring Crystal Dynamics, the US computer games company, for $47m.
08-Sep-1998

The Welsh Development Agency has submitted plans to Swansea Council to build an electronics assembly and test facility building at the Penllergaer Business Park, which would create 500 jobs, although the company concerned has not been named.
08-Sep-1998

Dell Computer is planning to invest £77m to expand capacity at a computer factory in Limerick, Ireland, creating 1,700 jobs.
07-Sep-1998

Cable & Wireless Communications has awarded a £1.8bn 10-year deal to IBM for the outsourcing of its central management systems, which will involve the transfer of about 950 staff and the creation of an additional 400 jobs.
03-Sep-1998

Nordiko, the UK manufacturer of components for computer disk drives, is being acquired by two Japanese companies - Shimadzu and Marubun, in a £22m deal.
02-Sep-1998

Rubicon, the computer box maker, is to be acquired by Applied Power of the US for £207m.
02-Sep-1998

Energis is to acquire Planet Online, the internet service provider, for up to £85m, in order to expand its corporate customer base and offer more internet services.
29-Aug-1998

Personal Number Company is to expand its telecommunications business by spending £10m on a number of acquisitions, including PiperTel Communications, DIS Information Services, Unitel Networks and Telecommunications UK.
28-Aug-1998

GEC-Marconi Underwater Systems is to build a new two-storey office block at its site in Havant to cope with rising orders, and 90 new jobs will be created.
28-Aug-1998

Lattice Semiconductor Corp of the US is planning to set up a £25m European research and development headquarters near Bristol, creating 100 new jobs.
26-Aug-1998

Vodafone is acquiring BellSouth New Zealand, the mobile phone network, for £230m and plans to help lift the country's mobile phone penetration from 17% to 50% by 2005.
26-Aug-1998

Specialist Computer Holdings is to expand its systems integration business and create 250 jobs across the UK, including 100 at its Birmingham headquarters and computer assembly plant.
26-Aug-1998

Computacenter, the computer distributor and services group, is planning to recruit a further 600 staff by the end of the year, as part of a plan to accelerate its investment programme.
21-Aug-1998

Tadpole Technology is acquiring RDI Computer, the US computer workstation manufacturer, in a £3.7m reverse takeover.
19-Aug-1998

Astec is to acquire the Advanced Power Systems operation of Canada's Northern Telecom for about £200m, as part of a strategy to move into the manufacture of higher value products for the telecoms sector.
15-Aug-1998

Ericsson, the Swedish telecoms group, is said to be preparing to move its head office to St James's Square, London, to escape Swedish taxes.
10-Aug-1998

Filtronic is acquiring LK-Products, the telecoms components company, from Nokia for £40m, and is strengthening its ties with Nokia by issuing new shares that will give the Finnish group a 7.5% stake in Filtronic.
08-Aug-1998

Racal Electronics has finalised the sale of its troubled data communications business to Platinum Equity Holdings of California for an initial £7.5m.
08-Aug-1998

Division is acquiring ObjectLogic, the US developer of software tools, for £13m.
05-Aug-1998

Icom Systems, the IT services supplier, has been acquired by Keane of the US in a £30m deal.
05-Aug-1998

Skillsgroup has sold PSL, its Unix products distribution business, to management for £15m, in order to focus on skills-based activities.
05-Aug-1998

Filtronic has acquired Litton Solid State, the US high-grade semiconductor company, for £26m in order to strengthen its technology base.
04-Aug-1998

Kingston Communications has sold Kingston SCL, the supplier of billing and operational support software, to management for £55m.
22-Jul-1998

Rolfe & Nolan, the financial software company, is to sell its capital markets division to IQ Financial Systems of the US for £4.6m.
18-Jul-1998

Radius, the computer services company, has received a £15m takeover offer from its management team.
18-Jul-1998

Colt Telecom has acquired Imaginet, the French internet service provider, for £12m.
17-Jul-1998

Skillsgroup is selling its MBS operation to the Computer Company of the Netherlands for £1.8m.
16-Jul-1998

Cable & Wireless is set to buy the internet assets of MCI in a £1.2bn deal, in order to allow the US company to win regulatory approval for its merger with WorldCom.
15-Jul-1998

IBM is to set up a £12m multilingual direct marketing call centre at its Greenock site in Scotland, creating 500 jobs.
14-Jul-1998

Philips has opened a new factory in Stockport to make discrete semiconductor devices, and expects to add a further 350 jobs at the site over the next five years.
14-Jul-1998

CMG has acquired Cometh Conseil and Cometh System, two French IT services companies, for £3m.
08-Jul-1998

JWE Telecom is planning to open 20 mobile communication business centres and a number of retail outlets.
08-Jul-1998

Securicor is selling its telecoms systems business, which distributes branch exchange systems and handsets, to Samsung of South Korea for undisclosed terms.
02-Jul-1998

AEA Technology is acquiring EA Systems, the Californian developer of engineering software, for £9m.
02-Jul-1998

GEC is to buy Siemens' 40% stake in their GPT telecoms joint venture, in a £700m deal that will also see GEC transfer its 50% stake in their video-conference joint venture to Siemens.
25-Jun-1998

Micro Focus is acquiring Intersolv, the US computer services group, in a £334m share deal that will enable it to offer a wider range of IT solutions to its customers.
19-Jun-1998

Phonelink is acquiring GB Mailing, the address software company, for up to £11m and Seaforths, the business travel agency that has developed electronic commerce products.
19-Jun-1998

Carlton Communications is planning to acquire Nimbus CD International, the US disk maker, for £160m, in order to give its Technicolor division access to the new digital versatile disks that are expected to replace CD-Roms and video cassettes.
18-Jun-1998

Cap Gemini of France has bought AT&T's UK division that develops network services and loyalty card schemes, for about £25m.
17-Jun-1998

Omnimedia is to acquire Sales Engineering and Computer Consultants in a £17m reverse takeover deal that will include a flotation on Aim and the raising of £3m to fund future expansion of the enlarged group.
13-Jun-1998

Packard Bell NEC is to set up a £26m computer factory in Livingston, Scotland, with employment reaching 450 by 2000.
13-Jun-1998

CFS, the financial software company, is to acquire LeaseTek, the US lease administration software supplier, for £10m, funded by a £12.8m share placing.
12-Jun-1998

Network Associates of the US is to acquire DR Solomon's Group of the UK for £391m in order to strengthen its position in the European market for computer security software.
10-Jun-1998

SDX Business Systems, the provider of integrated voice and data systems, is to be acquired by Lucent Technologies of the US for £124m.
09-Jun-1998

Vitec has acquired Drake Electronics of the UK for £2m and Systems Wireless of the US for £6.7m.
05-Jun-1998

Bowthorpe has acquired Conversion Equipment Corp, the US telecoms and computer power supplies business, for $13.7m.
05-Jun-1998

Arlen, the electronics company, is selling its Betraine subsidiary to The West Co Inc for £7.2m.
03-Jun-1998

Cable & Wireless has bought the internet backbone business of MCI of the US for £385m, beating off competition from two unnamed US groups and giving C&W access to large US corporate customers.
29-May-1998

ICL is forming an alliance with Microsoft to develop a new generation of consumer-oriented IT systems, and the move will create 1,000 new jobs in Europe.
27-May-1998

Vero is acquiring Danica, the Danish power supply manufacturer, for up to £11.8m.
21-May-1998

Micro Focus has acquired Micro Focus Italia, its Italian software distributor, for £2.6m, as part of a strategy to offer global solutions to customers.
16-May-1998

APW of the US is to acquire Vero, the electronics equipment company, for £115m following the withdrawal of Pentair from the bidding.
14-May-1998

SDX Business Systems has acquired Network Alchemy, the supplier of ISDN router-based PBX, for £2.6m.
13-May-1998

Espirit Telecom is to acquire Plusnet of Germany from Thyssen for £108m, to help with its aim of becoming the leading alternative telecoms company in Europe.
12-May-1998

Foxteq of Taiwan is to set up a £15m plant to make enclosures for personal computers at Renfrew near Glasgow, creating an initial 300 jobs.
08-May-1998

Scottish Telecom, part of Scottish Power, is acquiring Demon Internet, the internet service provider, for £66m and the move is expected to give Demon the resources to expand further into mainland Europe.
02-May-1998

APW of the US has launched a £94m agreed bid for Vero, the UK supplier of equipment to the electronics sector, but a bidding war could develop as Pentair of the US is also considering an approach.
24-Apr-1998

NSB Retail Systems is acquiring Application Programming Techniques, the US software supplier to the retail sector, for £3.2m, in order to widen its customer base and bring in skilled IT staff and new technology.
22-Apr-1998

Tomkins has sold Axis Resources, its IT subsidiary, to management for £18m.
20-Apr-1998

British Telecom is to set up a £6m call centre in Dundee, creating 800 jobs and offering services to companies that outsource their call handling.
18-Apr-1998

Lynx has acquired Tenhill Computer Systems, the software consultancy, for £10m.
14-Apr-1998

Action Computer Supplies has acquired SHL Technology Solutions' UK reseller business for £8m.
09-Apr-1998

TCS Consumer Services of the US has acquired Interglobe Telecommunications, the UK phone card services group, for £12m, making it the largest independent phone card company in Europe.
02-Apr-1998

Delta Electronics of Taiwan is planning a £10m plant to make power supplies for computers at East Kilbride, creating 200 jobs.
31-Mar-1998

NatWest Equity Partners has sold Zincocelere, the Italian manufacturer of printed circuit boards, to Viasystems of Italy for over £60m.
30-Mar-1998

Seagate Technology of the US is to invest a further £27m in its semiconductor plant near Edinburgh, creating 100 jobs.
26-Mar-1998

Ericsson, the Swedish telecoms company, is considering plans to move head office functions to London as high taxes in Sweden are preventing it from recruiting top managers.
18-Mar-1998

CMG, the computer services company, is planning to recruit a further 2,000 staff this year, but has warned of a problem with the skills shortage in the jobs market.
10-Mar-1998

Pearson is to sell its Mindscape software business in the US to The Learning Company for £90m, leaving Pearson with a £212m loss on disposal.
07-Mar-1998

Grundig is planning a £4m expansion at its Llantrisant factory in south Wales to make set-top boxes for BSkyB, creating 215 jobs.
04-Mar-1998

Cadence Design Systems of the US has acquired Symbionics, the Cambridge-based chip design business, for undisclosed terms.
04-Mar-1998

CMG has acquired Microlex, the financial services software concern, for up to £18m.
03-Mar-1998

Coda, the accountancy software company, has been acquired by Baan of the Netherlands for £53m.
24-Feb-1998

Microvitec has sold its monitor displays business to Conrac Technology of the US for £1.4m in an attempt to raise cash to save the main business.
17-Feb-1998

GEC has sold GEC Plessey Semiconductors to Mitel of Canada for £140m, thereby completing its withdrawal from unwanted industrial businesses.
14-Feb-1998

ISA International, the computer supplies company, is planning to acquire John Heath, the office supplies company, for £29m in shares.
14-Feb-1998

Serco has bought Tecnodata, the Italian computer support services company, for about £9m.
10-Feb-1998

GEC has sold Marconi Instruments, the measuring instruments business, to IFR Systems of the US for £65m, as part of a strategy to focus on defence, electronics and telecoms.
07-Feb-1998

Rolfe & Nolan, the financial services software company, has received a £71m recommended takeover offer from SunGard Data Systems of the US.
06-Feb-1998

AEA Technology is acquiring Code International, the producer of lifetime prediction software, for £6.9m.
04-Feb-1998

Misys has sold its computer services business to a management team for £10m, in order to focus on software products.
03-Feb-1998

Kode International, the printed circuit board maker, has agreed to a £14m takeover offer from Cornerstone Equity Investors of the US.
31-Jan-1998

Sage is acquiring State of the Art, a Californian supplier of accountancy software, for £160m in its largest acquisition to date.
28-Jan-1998

Sage has sold its Dataform print management business to management for £7.2m.
15-Jan-1998

Isola Werke of Germany is planning to invest £28m at its printed circuit board base factory in Cumbernauld, creating about 300 jobs.
13-Jan-1998

GE Capital Investments is to acquire P&P UK, the desktop computer business, from Skillsgroup for £11.5m.
06-Jan-1998

Lynx has acquired Globelle, the computer networks supplier, for £3m, in order to improve relations with customers of its own Sphinx CST network business.
02-Jan-1998