The Computer Software Group plc (CS Group) has acquired the whole of the issued share capital of FAST Limited for a total consideration of £10.5 million to be satisfied in cash provided by an additional banking facility. At completion FAST Limited had cash resources of £5 million. FAST Limited, which is based in Maidenhead, is a software training, education and membership organisation focussed on software licence compliance. The organisation supports its 2600 members in achieving and maintaining the FAST Standard for Software Compliance (FSSC – 1:2004). The FAST Standard was developed in collaboration with BSI British Standards and also addresses a significant proportion of the requirements of ISO/IEC 19770-1, the International Standard for Software Asset Management. FAST’s audited consolidated accounts to 28 February 2007 recorded sales of £7.0 million and EBITA of £1.5 million. The net assets of FAST Limited at 28 February 2007 were £1.2 million. The Chief Executive, Geoff Webster, and Finance Director, Tracey Baldwin, will both resign from the business upon acquisition.Commenting on the acquisition, Vin Murria, Chief Executive of CS Group, said: “CS Group believes that IT compliance is an important component of business risk management for businesses of any size. FAST’s structured methodology complements our existing compliance technology, which includes training and Lexcel legal compliance. Furthermore, our expanded solution portfolio will enable us to provide compliance benefits to a wide range of customers and sectors in particular the Legal and Not for Profit sectors.”
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