Merger of IS.Teledata AG and OnVista Technologies GmbH Is Complete - Creating Europe's Largest Provider of Internet-Based Financial Market Information Systems

FRANKFURT (IST) - Effective immediately, the merger of OnVista Technologies GmbH and IS.Teledata AG, formerly IS Innovative Software AG, is complete and legally valid. The merger has been entered into the trade register of Frankfurt/Main, thus taking the last legal hurdle. The merged corporation acts as IS.Teledata AG with headquarters in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. The corporation maintains its second German location in Cologne, as well as subsidiaries and shares in six other European countries. Largest shareholder of the not publicly traded company is OnVista AG in Cologne, the former sole owner of OnVista Technologies GmbH, holding 31.5% of the shares.

Improved market position
The merger creates the Europe's largest Internet-based provider of financial market information systems which offers financial service providers and media companies financial market information and the software to display and analyse it. Before the merger, the two companies acted as direct competitors. "Today, two good companies join together to form a better one," comments Fritz Oidtmann, Spokesman for the Board of OnVista AG and CFO of IS.Teledata AG, on the completion of the plan to merge which was announced on June 30, 2003.

The main objectives of the merger beyond a strengthened market position are the forceful entry into new market segments and increased profitability thanks to synergy and scaling effects. After the integration has been completed, the board estimates annual synergy potentials in the low single-digit million range. These will be achieved by savings in technology costs, procurement, marketing activities and personnel expenses.

New organisational structure
The integration process will be swiftly implemented in the upcoming months. "We have already prepared the actual merging process of the two companies, so the new corporate structure has already been settled," explains Oidtmann, the IS.Teledata board member who is also responsible for post merger management. After restructuring, IS.Teledata AG is estimated to have more than 190 employees in Germany alone. On September 30, 2003, the two companies employed a total of 227 people in Germany. In the integration process, 35 people will leave the company, and approximately the same number of people will relocate. The downsizing measures in the course of the integration are accompanied by a reconcilement of interests and a social compensation plan which have been developed by the executive board and the companies' works councils. Subsidiaries outside of Germany will also see lay-offs in parts, although the exact number has not been determined yet.

Oidtmann continues: "We now focus on the integration of the two technological platforms and on optimising our product portfolio. Now that we can act as one company in our daily operations, we are able to offer our customers the best of two worlds." This applies especially to the market sector of institutional asset management and private banking where the corporation plans to reinforce its entry.

An executive board of three, a supervisory board of six
The executive board comprises Stephan Wolf (Spokesman of the Executive Board), Fritz Oidtmann (CFO) and Stephan Schubert (CTO). Wolf (43) previously acted as CEO of IS Innovative Software AG, while Oidtmann (43) and Schubert (34) both were managing directors of OnVista Technologies GmbH and member of the executive board of OnVista AG. The supervisory board consists of Chairman Bernd Giersberg, and Jens Bernecker, Dr. Christoph Braun, Caspar von Hauenschild, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang König and Michael W. Schwetje.

Profitability foreseen for 2004
For the financial year 2003, IS.Teledata AG aims at a total turnover of approximately € 35 million . Due to the imminent integration costs, the result for 2003 is estimated to be negative. "But once the integration process has been concluded successfully, IS.Teledata AG will be profitable in the long term," says Wolf.