Proha Strengthens European Dominance of IT Project Management With Purchase of Italy's Artemis International SPA

Business Wire, Sept 7, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 7, 2000

--Artemis' Parent Company Now Becomes European Leader--

Continuing its strategy to acquire leading European IT project management suppliers, Artemis Management Systems' parent company, Proha PLC of Helsinki, Finland, today announced it will purchase Artemis International SPA located in Milan and Rome. As a result of this acquisition, Proha will increase its net revenue to just over $75 million.

The acquisition follows the September 5, 2000 announcement that Proha finalized agreements to acquire two leading Central European IT project management suppliers in France and Germany. With the Italian acquisition, Proha now becomes the leading project management IT supplier in all of Europe.

"Proha is striving to become the strongest IT project management supplier by seeking wider channels for international implementation," commented Steve C. Yager, president and CEO of Artemis. "This succession of acquisitions further demonstrates Proha's commitment to global leadership of project and resource management."

The acquisition will be conducted as a share exchange, where the owners of the acquired company are offered a total of 224,000 new shares of Proha PLC. The shares offered amount to approximately two percent of the share capital of Proha after the exchange. The new shares include a sales restriction that will expire in three years. The acquisition will be completed when Proha's board of directors approves the acquisition and conducts the exchange of shares.

Previous to gaining 100 percent ownership of Artemis International SPA, Proha had a 30 percent stake in the Italian company, which presently employs 43 people. Artemis International SPA's net revenue for this past fiscal year was $6 million, with profits of $617,000. The total net revenue of the German, French and Italian Artemis International companies is $18.6 million, with profits of $966,000. The companies' consolidated net influence on the Proha Group's net revenue is approximately $16.7 million; the companies have been paying annual royalties of close to $1.9 million to the Proha Group.

The combined companies enjoy a wide European clientele, including the electronics, automotive, financial, insurance and telecommunications industries. Their roster of customers is comprised of many strong international brands, including Alcatel, Audi, Banque Nationale de Paris, BMW, Citroen, Credit Lyonnais, Deutsche Telekom, Dresner Bank, France Telecom, Hewlett-Packard, Michelin, Motorola, Siemens and Telecom Italia.

Background

Artemis provides software and professional services that help large and medium-sized enterprises to more effectively manage their projects and workforce resources with an integrated suite of products and services. The company's products - available in client/server and Web-based environments - improve coordination, communication and collaboration on projects, tasks and business goals for centralized or dispersed project teams. Artemis, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, operates out of 40 offices in 27 countries, serving customers in a wide range of industries including banking and finance, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, aerospace and defense, manufacturing, and engineering and construction. For more information, call 1.800.477.6648 or visit the Artemis Web site at www.artemispm.com.

Proha focuses its IT products on management in the Internet age, including project management, financial management and Internet technologies. The company was listed on the NM-list of the Helsinki Exchange in October 1999. After the listing, the company has grown very rapidly through acquisitions and organic growth in sync with its strategy. After the acquisition, Proha Group will employ over 600 staff in Finland, the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. For more information, visit the Proha Web site at www.proha.fi.

Artemis is a registered trademark of Artemis Management Systems Inc. All other product or company names mentioned are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.