Advertising System Company Acquisition For Atex

Atex has acquired Mactive, which includes Mactive Inc in the USA and Mactive AB in Sweden, along with its other subsidiaries.

Atex has acquired Mactive, which includes Mactive Inc in the USA and Mactive AB in Sweden, along with its other subsidiaries.

Mactive is the developer of Adbase, an integrated advertising system which includes advertising sales, customer relationship management, rating and contract management facilities, as well as account receivable, production and web systems for the media industry.

Adbase is installed in areas and markets that complement Atex's presence, said the company, particularly in the United States and Scandinavia.

Atex said it believes the acquisition will enhance its global strength and localised customer support and professional services infrastructure.

John Hawkins, Atex Group chief executive officer, commented: "Late last year, when we announced our agreement to acquire Unisys Media, I said that Atex would be looking at further acquisitions that strengthen our position as the number one global vendor to the media industry.

Whilst the industry is undergoing dramatic consolidation it makes sense that vendors serving the industry follow a similar course." He added: "We made it clear that Atex would be a consolidator and we have the desire, financial backing, management team and vision, to continue this strategy.

More than ever, Atex will be able to provide innovative cross media software and an increasingly high level of support and service to our customer base of more than 800 media companies in over 40 countries around the globe." Atex, which now employs almost 600 people worldwide, said it will be working closely with all its customers to deliver systems that provide new opportunities for revenue growth, cost savings, and the capabilities necessary to compete in online and multimedia markets.

The company added that all current products will continue to be maintained, supported and upgraded, and that new applications will continue to be backwards compatible, maintaining value in publishers' digital assets, customer and historical data.

In addition, Mactive and Atex customers will be able to take advantage of the company's new managed services model for outsourcing client applications.

Atex said it now has an established data centre in Milan, currently supporting 10 media companies, with plans to open additional centres around the world to support the initiative.

John Hawkins explained: "The Mactive Adbase system is a successful, feature-rich and scalable advertising management system that has a proven track record in our industry.

We welcome the Mactive staff and are excited about the opportunity to have Adbase as an integral part of our advertising product portfolio." And he continued: "We are counting on the Mactive team to take a leading role in the future of our advertising strategies.

I can't wait to see the great products and technologies that will emerge as a result of this acquisition." Johan Seeman, chief executive officver of the Mactive Group, commented: " I agree with the Atex strategy of consolidation and believe that this deal will benefit our customers and staff, as well as provide continuing development and long-term support for our many loyal customers.

Atex has strong leadership and a clear vision of what is needed to provide advanced systems that will greatly benefit online and print media today, and in the future." Seeman, in his new role with Atex, will be responsible for group advertising business for Atex worldwide.

Scott Roessler, the chief executive officer of Mactive USA and the chief technical officer of the Mactive Group, explained: "The combined assets of Mactive and Atex will allow Adbase to continue to be the premier advertising system for the media industry.

The combination of Atex and Mactive is going to make us an unstoppable force." In his new role with Atex, Roessler will be responsible for the advertising business in the Americas, as well as the product strategy for advertising systems worldwide.

Atex Group is backed by the Norwegian Investment Company Kistefos AS.

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