MENTEC ACQUIRES LEADING MICROSOFT PARTNER

Mentec International, a leading provider of integrated financial management, ERP and eBusiness solutions, has acquired Sytation, the Leicestershire-based Microsoft Great Plains specialist creating the second largest Microsoft Great Plains partner in Europe. The deal, part of a larger acquisition programme, will significantly expand Mentec's Microsoft-related operations internationally.

Founded in 1993, Sytation is the UK's longest established Microsoft Great Plains consulting partner. The company employs 30 staff and has an extensive customer base in the UK and throughout the world.

In addition to supplying, implementing and supporting Microsoft Great Plains, Sytation develops complementary solutions that integrate directly with the core system. These products provide enhanced financial management tools in areas such as business intelligence, reporting and exceptions monitoring.

The strategic acquisition brings together two of the leading Microsoft Great Plains partners in the UK and Ireland. The scale of the merged operation will greatly enhance the range of products and services that can be offered to customers.

Commenting on the deal, Mentec managing director, Kevin Haverty, said, "Both companies recognise the significant market potential that the Microsoft Great Plains product provides. Over the last 5 years we have witnessed massive consolidation and widespread changes in the ERP solution landscape. During this time, Microsoft Business Solutions has emerged as the clear market leader in the mid-sized ERP segment. This acquisition significantly enhances our product IPR and skills base, and provides even greater functional depth and breadth to our Microsoft Great Plains delivery capabilities."

He continued, "With Microsoft Great Plains, we have an ERP system that will work, out of the box, with Microsoft solutions for CRM, business intelligence, eCommerce, document management, integration, XML and .NET web services. Because everything is based on a shared technology stack, the implementation costs are lower and the system can scale and adapt to business requirements more easily in the future. We feel that this is a very compelling offering in the marketplace."

While Sytation will continue to trade under its own name as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mentec, work will commence immediately on integrating the company into Mentec's group operations. It is expected that additional staff, particularly in the area of business development, will be added in the coming months.

Kevin Haverty concludes "I believe that the combination of the two companies will prove to be an extremely positive development for the customers and staff of Sytation. A broader portfolio of products and complementary project capabilities will enable us to provide an expanded offering to customers today and into the future. The addition of Mentec to Sytations operations will enhance their already impressive reputation in the UK marketplace.

This announcement follows on from an earlier acquisition by Mentec of a Microsoft Great Plains partner. In 2001 the company acquired Ireland's largest Microsoft Great Plains reseller; Sequel Financial Systems. Since then, Mentec has broadened its delivery capabilities around Microsoft's business applications, server technologies and development environment. In 2003 it was awarded Gold Certified Partner status by Microsoft in recognition of its extensive project experience, developer certification and customer reference projects.