New Delhi: Concerto Software, a proven provider of customer interaction management (CIM) solutions, today announced its plans for strengthening its India operations and declared that it has won 20 new customers in India over the last one year and has raked in revenues of approximately $5 million. These figures show a growth of approximately 50 per cent, which is almost double the industry growth rate of 27 per cent as predicted by world renowned independent research agency, Frost & Sullivan.

Concerto has over 70 customers in India, which include names like Wipro Spectramind, Essar, Teletech India, Global Telesystem, HCL Eserve, Daksh eServices, Globalvantedge, NIIT Smartserve, Colwell & Salmon, ICICI One Source, Hinduja, Transworks, Sanchez Capital, Zenta, Respondez, Prolease, and Infowavz.

Says Concerto Software president and CEO James D Foy: "India is one of the most crucial markets for Concerto and has immense potential. We see a very strong opportunity for further growth in this region and will be making significant investments and strengthen our relationships with our distribution partners so that India clearly emerges as the hub for the Asia-Pacific region."

Concerto Software recently announced that it has entered into an agreement and plan of merger with Melita International, a global provider of products and services focused on maximising contact centre effectiveness. This merger, which is expected to be completed by early next year, will see Concerto having revenues of $ 150 million, up from $99.5 million in the year 2002. The customer base of the merged entity will be 1,800, up from the present 1,200, and the worldwide employee strength will also see a 50-per cent rise.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Concerto Software will combine with Melita and the combined company will operate under the name of Concerto Software. Except for certain shares held by certain officers and a director of Concerto Software, which will be exchanged for a minority equity interest in the new company, all of Concerto Software''s outstanding shares will be purchased for $12.00 per share in cash. Golden Gate Capital and Oak Investment Partners, both private equity investment firms and majority owners of Melita, are providing the financing for the transaction.

Concerto has already received notice of early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust waiting period regarding the proposed merger, which remains subject to other customary closing conditions, including the securing of other regulatory approvals and approval by stockholders of Concerto Software.

In addition, Concerto Software today announced that based upon its preliminary estimates, it expects to report third quarter total revenue in the range of $26.5 to $27.2 million and earnings of $0.07-0.08 per diluted share on a generally accepted accounting principles basis. The company also estimates that its cash and short-term investments at the end of the third quarter total approximately $28.8 million.

As a result of the merger, Concerto Software, Inc. will strengthen its presence in the global CIM market and provide significant benefits to its worldwide customer base. The combined company will deliver expanded professional services, have increased direct and indirect sales reach, provide a wider array of solutions, and broaden its support infrastructure through centers of excellence throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Until the completion of the merger, the two companies will continue to operate as independent entities and both remain committed to supporting and further evolving all of their respective leading contact centre solutions pre- and post-transaction completion.

"We believe the merger will have a positive impact on both Concerto Software and Melita International, as well as on the industry as a whole," says Alpa Shah, vice-president, Frost & Sullivan. "The global synergies and product expansion resulting from this merger further solidifies Concerto Software''s position in the worldwide outbound dialling market. In addition, the momentum that Concerto Software has shown recently with its unified platform EnsemblePro, is evidence that the company is quickly becoming a viable contender in the large and growing inbound CIM market as well."

Foy will remain in that position following the merger. George Landgrebe, president and CEO of Melita, will assume the role of executive vice president of worldwide customer support of Concerto Software.

"With a broader base of customers and solutions, greater technology expertise, expanded services capabilities and broader distribution channels that will result from the merger, we believe Concerto Software will be well positioned to compete against the larger companies in both the inbound and outbound sectors of the CIM market," says Foy.

"I am excited by the prospect of working with the Melita team as their strong performance in their first quarter of operations proves they have world class solutions, first class employees and loyal customers. The knowledge, skills, and abilities of our employees from both organisations remain key to our future success. The new company will emerge better equipped to provide customers with the most appropriate solutions to meet their business needs."