Seagull Software Completes Farabi Acquisition
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Gains Microsoft .NET Technology Along with Extended Geographic Reach with Canada and Middle East Customer Base
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Atlanta, GA,– 3 April 2006
Seagull Software (Euronext: SEAGULL) today announced that it has completed acquisition of the assets of privately-held Farabi Technology Corporation, a Canadian software company that specializes in integration products to connect .NET environments to legacy applications. All of Farabi's intellectual property and HostFront software products are included in the asset purchase.
Seagull Software will gain 200 new customers including fifty Fortune 1000 companies. New customers in North America include Synovis Financial, ADP, American Express, Continental Airlines, ABN Amro Bank, Sears Canada and Banque Nationale du Canada. Customers in the Middle East include Saudi Airlines, Egypt Air, National Bank of Egypt and the Ministries of Interior and Finance in Kuwait.
“This combination brings 200 new customers and expands our geographic reach into Canada and the Middle East, and the Farabi technology strongly complements Seagull Software's emulation and integration solution strategy,” remarked Don Addington, Seagull Software CEO and President. “This acquisition is a great example of the value-add we are pursuing for our customers and shareholders,” he continued.
Farabi's HostFront products add .NET-centric legacy integration, as well as 3-tier terminal emulation, to the Seagull Software technology portfolio.
“Our strategy is to be the leading vendor of high-performance solutions for transforming mainframe applications into SOA assets,” said Tom Barnes, Vice President of Business Development for Seagull Software. “Farabi's HostFront product line gives us an additional .NET integration choice for our customers, as well as a 3-tier emulator for customers who prefer that architecture.”
Since 1987, Farabi has focused primarily on the Canadian and Middle Eastern markets, with growing market share in the banking and government sectors. The development lab for HostFront products will remain in Montreal, Canada, which will also serve as Seagull Software's new sales office for the Canadian region.
Seagull Software will continue a tight relationship with Farabi's strong and well-established distribution channel in the Middle East, which recently won the prestigious Microsoft Business Process and Integration Competency Award based on sales of Farabi products and associated services in the Gulf region. Sales through the channel will expand to include Seagull Software's LegaSuite® and BlueZone™ products.