MAS Acts as Advisor to Paterson Quarries (Perth, Scotland) in the Execution of Recent

Cal Software consolidates It’s Agribusiness and Commodities trading Software Position with the Acquisitions

Market Advisory Services, Inc., a strategic advisory and research boutique in commodities, energy, and financial information technology today announced the success of its transaction process to introduce, represent, and negotiate the acquisition of its client Kit Software Ltd. and Kinross Computer Systems Ltd. of Scotland by Cal Software of Lancashire, England. MAS represented the ownership of the two companies, Paterson Quarries, in the process as intermediary.

Jim Richardson, Paterson's Financial Director stated, " We have always had a trade sale in mind as this was not our core business. We have been very committed to finding the right company to take both Kinross and Kit forward to make a deserved success of them both. We have been delighted with the level of interest shown in the companies, through recognition of our own considerable product investment and the strong client list, of which Paterson's are also a member. Our intermediary focused on evaluating the company most able to service the customer base, leverage the Microsoft technology and develop the business to deliver future growth. A review of Cal's Management strengths, its business approach and forward strategy for its target markets, put it head and shoulders above other companies interested in acquiring the business."

Mr. Paul Mahady, President of MAS stated, "MAS was advisor to the owner of Kit Software and Kinross in Scotland from the initial meeting in Birmingham with the senior executives of Cal Software and the owner’s representative, Jim Richardson. The initial meetings focused on the business case for the buyer and their ability to leverage the properties for sale to both continue the organic growth but provide a combined critical mass for UK and European agribusiness market sector.”

About Market Advisory Services (MAS). MAS is an international advisory boutique with experience in over 50+ countries, 60+ transactions, and a 120+ clients. MAS provides a unique, highly personalized service with expert staff on assignments. MAS restricts all staff from investments related to any client or any research area and does not undertake any client funded research for promotional purposes. For more information, visit MAS website at www.masfinance.com 

About Kinross and Kit Software: Kit Software was launched in 2001 as a Microsoft technology based solution designed specifically for the unique demands of the physical commodity trading sector used by traders, brokers and procurement organisations globally. The commodities covered include: Cereals, Oilseeds, Cotton, Metals, Minerals, Petro Chemicals, Softs, and Speciality Commodities. Kinross was established in 1979, as a Business Solutions provider and IT Consultancy. Kinross is focused on delivering business improvements for clients through strategic change management, business process re-engineering and business solutions including implementing Kit Software solutions. www.kitsoftware.com

SAS Institute Canada Inc. Acquires RiskAdvisory in Asset Purchase Agreement

Market Advisory Services, Inc. (MAS), a strategic advisory and industry research boutique in commodities, energy, and financial information technology announced the completion of a transaction process to introduce, represent, and advise RiskAdvisory of Calgary, Canada in a  successfully completed transaction with SAS Institute (Canada) which acquired the assets through a SAS entity in Canada. SAS Institute Canada Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of SAS Institute, the largest private software company in the world with approximately $1.2 Billion in annual revenues. The transaction was executed as an asset purchase. Financial terms of the transaction between the two private companies have not been made public. The management and staff of the company have become employees of SAS Institute Canada.

The transaction is the acquisition of the assets of RiskAdvisory, including the software assets of RSI. RiskAdvisory is a leading energy business consulting and energy software company in Canada with consulting and software operations. MAS presented the opportunity to SAS, the buyer, along with the tailored business case for the transaction, and provided advisory support.

Mr. Jim Joyce, founding partner of RiskAdvisory said, "MAS reviewed our positioning for sale and prepared the company for the buying process.  MAS assisted RiskAdvisory in identifying potential partners and then in presenting to SAS Canada and SAS US executive management team, the business case for the asset acquirer“.

Mr. Paul Mahady, President of MAS stated, “Risk Advisory is an extraordinarily strong energy risk consulting boutique primarily in Canada and western U.S. advising more than 160 companies. As well, the RiskAdvisory Software division, RSI, has a strong energy trading and portfolio management system, Energy Bookrunner that has been successfully sold to nearly two dozen energy entities. SAS has the business positioning, global reach, technology resources, and alliance relationships to address the emerging risk requirements in the energy sector that remain despite the demise of the energy merchant model”.

This is the fourth merger in risk management that MAS has led in the last year. MAS has been involved in more than 60 transactions advising investors, acquirers and sellers of companies, divisions, or assets. Additionally, MAS has been retained by public companies and venture capital firms in evaluating specific acquisition and investment opportunities and supporting the market assessment and company due diligence.  MAS advisory and transaction support ranges from evaluating strategic options, understanding how an acquisition best fits a portfolio or parent entity, along with best practices related to due diligence preparation and negotiation. 

Mr. Mahady stated, concerning the M&A advisory services, "MAS continues to combine a strong selling and research M&A methodology that is highly differentiated for representing vertical software companies under $50M in revenues. This approach, combined with strong due diligence preparation and support throughout the entire transaction process, insures a strategic valuation, highly probable transaction closure, and lower risk for all parties involved. We are pleased with what we have achieved for our M&A clients in the risk management and analytics sectors in  2003”.

For sellers, the MAS M&A methodology focuses on all stages of the transaction from the initial positioning and buyer identification to value assessment to negotiating term sheet and completing due diligence and merger agreement.  MAS capabilities include assisting our client’s legal advisor through strong client preparation and intimate business knowledge of both the seller and the buyer.  This increases the prospect of a successful merger transaction, something that has been difficult for the majority of transactions attempted in 2002 and in 2003.

About MAS

Market Advisory Services, Inc. (MAS), is a strategic advisory and industry research firm in commodities, energy, and financial information technology. MAS has advised central banks, ratings agencies, commercial banks, energy companies, venture firms, technology companies, and telecommunications companies on market developments, solutions opportunities, and business management in commodities, energy, and financial information technology. As an international advisory boutique, MAS has project experience in over 50 countries and over 100 clients. MAS provides a unique highly personalized service with expert staff on assignments. MAS restricts all staff from investments related to any client or research subject and does not undertake any client funded publications for business and product promotional purposes which compromises research integrity. Vendor research briefings and profiles are funded solely by MAS and provided to clients via a private research web site. See www.masfinance.com. 

About Risk Advisory

RiskAdvisory is a Canadian based company with separate consulting and software operations focused on energy risk management. Founded in 1995, RiskAdvisory is based in Calgary, Canada. For further information on RiskAdvisory, see www.riskadvisory.com.  

About SAS

SAS is a market leader in providing a new generation of business intelligence software and services that create true enterprise intelligence. SAS solutions are used at more than 40,000 sites – including 90 percent of the Fortune 500 – to develop more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; to enable better, more accurate and informed decisions; and to drive organizations forward. SAS is the only vendor that completely integrates leading data warehousing, analytics and traditional BI applications to create intelligence from massive amounts of data. See www.sas.com .