Hartcourt Announces Strategic Acquisition of IT Service Company Wednesday February 25, 6:00 am ET
LOS ANGELES, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Feb 25, 2004 -- The Hartcourt Companies, Inc. (OTC BB:HRCT.OB - News) (Frankfurt: 900009), www.hartcourt.com, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase a controlling interest of Shanghai Computer ServiceNet Co., Ltd, a leading independent third-party IT service provider based in Shanghai, China. ADVERTISEMENT The total purchase consideration is approximately US$2.5 million payable in cash and restricted shares. The management team of the company will hold the remaining minority interest.
The acquisition is strategically important for Hartcourt's fast-growing IT distribution network. Using ServiceNet capabilities would bring major competitive edge to all Hartcourt subsidiaries. They will be able to enhance customer service, develop brand equities and expand into new market segments. The high profit margin of IT service business is another attractive and lucrative sector that Hartcourt plans to increase its investment.
Established in 2000, ServiceNet provides a wide range of IT services to several multinationals in China, such as HP, Dell, Philips, Toshiba, Sony, Samsung, Seagate, etc. The types of services include Authorized Service Center, On-site Services, Hardware Support, System Maintenance, RMA management, and FA Testing. It also provides IT outsourcing services to other multinationals like BAT and Ericsson. Its service network covers 15 major cities in China, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Shenzhen, and Kunming, etc. It has over 200 engineers and recorded 4.6mil USD in net revenue in 2003 with about 20% net margin. ServiceNet expects to increase significantly its service offering and coverage, and to expand into the Northern China market in 2004. More details on ServiceNet can be obtained from its web sites, www.servicenet.com.cn.
Mr. Caoyang, President of ServiceNet, comments, "We look forward to working with Hartcourt on our expansion initiatives. We are very excited about management, marketing and technology synergies that a relationship with Hartcourt can bring. With China being one of the largest and fastest growing IT market in Asia Pacific, we believe our strong expertise in IT services business will contribute positively to Hartcourt's bottom line."
About Hartcourt
The Hartcourt Companies, Inc. is one of China's fastest growing companies in the IT distribution, retail and services sector. Hartcourt's growth strategy is to acquire controlling interests in profitable companies with proven management within this sector in key geographical areas of China. Recent acquisitions of Hartcourt included seven key IT distribution, retail and services companies covering all major regions of China that have highest GDP-per-capita. Detailed information on Hartcourt can be obtained from: www.hartcourt.com.
Forward-looking statements
The statements made in this press release, which are not historical facts, contain certain forward-looking statements concerning potential developments affecting the business, prospects, financial condition and other aspects of the company to which this release
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