(Oslo, 11 June 2003) Endre Rangnes, Chief Executive Officer of EDB Business Partner, has decided, in accordance with the authority granted to him by the Board, that the Consultancy Services business area will close with effect from 1 July 2003. This decision is in line with the re-focusing of the group's strategy previously announced. The accounting impact of the closure is provisionally estimated to be a charge of NOK 21 million, and will be recognised in the second quarter accounts. The business area had approximately 300 employees at the start of the year, and 150 of these will now be reallocated to the group's new divisions.

 

EDB Business Partner announced a revised business strategy for the group on 30 January of this year. This represents a concentration on the group's core activities with an emphasis on productivity-enhancing IT solutions. The new strategy envisaged the closure of Consultancy Services as a separate business area through a combination of business sales, run down of certain activities and the transfer of resources to other group businesses where appropriate.

 

The group executive management has evaluated a number of alternative solutions, including the possible sale of the Oslo-based consulting business as a single unit.

 

"We cannot sell this business at an attractive price unless the sale includes expertise that is of strategic importance for us and that has a natural place in the new EDB group. Since this would not further the group's value creation we have had to rule out such a sale", explains Endre Rangnes, CEO.

 

The closure of Consulting Services will have the following consequences:

 

Business Consulting in Oslo will shed just under 40 full-time equivalent positions. In the first instance the employees involved will be offered voluntary redundancy terms. Management is engaged in a constructive dialogue with employee representatives on the practical arrangements involved.

 

The group will withdraw from running consultancy activities in Trondheim. This business does not form a natural part of the group, and the 18 employees involved have the expertise and a sufficient volume of business to continue as an independent company. The group will provide the employees involved with assistance to make this change. This solution represents the best alternative for protecting both the group's interests and the interests of customers and employees in the Trondheim region.

 

The closure of Consultancy Services will mean that the subsidiaries Dolphin and Stradec will no longer have a natural role in the group. These companies have around 45 employees in total. Negotiations are currently underway for a sale of the Dolphin subsidiary, and this is expected to be finalised later in June. Dolphin is a profitable company. Stradec does not generate satisfactory profitability, and a final decision on this company's future will be made before the end of June.

 

Other employees in the consulting business area represent expertise of strategic importance for the group, generate satisfactory profitability and are engaged in relevant activities. Around half of these employees naturally belong to the Computer Operating Services business area and will be transferred accordingly. Other employees represent expertise in the areas of systems development and project management, and will be integrated with the similar environment in EDB Telesciences that currently provides such services for Telenor. When EDB announced its new strategy it made it clear that changes would be made to improve the use of expertise across the group's divisional boundaries. The new organisational structure will include an environment with expertise in this area to provide services in collaboration with the current resources in EDB Fellesdata, EDB Telesciences and EDB Teamco.

 

Seen in isolation, the closure of the Consulting Services business area will represent a reduction of 150 in the group's total headcount since the start of the year through business sales, redundancies and the discontinuation of some activities.

 

The accounting impact of this decision will be a loss of NOK 21 million recognised in the second quarter accounts. The final arrangements for the subsidiaries Stradec and Dolphin are expected to be implemented during the course of June.

 

Endre Rangnes, CEO, Tel. +47 23 32 45 05