This is the largest ever IT acquisition by a Norwegian IT company in Asia

The acquisition was first announced on 25 October during the visit of finance minister P Chidambaram to Oslo to attend a seminar, "IT Outsourcing to India" jointly organised by the Norwegian IKT Association and embassy of India at Oslo in Norway. (See: Chidambaram hard-sells Indian IT at seminar in OSLO)

Chidambaram personally congratulated the two managing directors and wished them further success.

EDB, which is listed on the Oslo stock exchange, Oslo Børs, under the ticker code EDBASA, is, one of the largest IT groups in the Nordic countries, with over 40 years'' experience of serving leading Nordic businesses. IT delivers solutions that cover the entire range of business critical IT services from application services and industry-specific solutions through to IT operating services and network solutions.

EDB has over 4,600 employees and reported turnover of NOK 5.8 billion (over $1 billion) in 2006. EDB delivers solutions that cover the entire range of business critical IT services.

Span Infotech, which was formed in 1994, is an ISO 9001 certified and CMM level 4 company and employs about 550 professionals working from three office locations in Bangalore, working principally in the areas of applications development and applications management.

About 80 per cent of Span Infotechs'' revenue comes from the US, with the remainder from Scandinavia. The company expects revenue growth in excess of 50 per cent in 2007.

This acquisition represents one of the largest-ever investments by a Norwegian IT company in Asia. It is expected that the acquisition will be implemented towards the end of the fourth quarter of 2007. The current management of SPAN Infotech will continue to run the company following the acquisition.

"The acquisition of Span Infotech in India is an important step in our commitment to building a long-term global sourcing strategy for EDB;" said Endre Rangnes, CEO, EDB Business Partner ASA. "Through this transaction, we will materially increase both our delivery capacity and competitiveness, and the new Indian unit, together with our Ukrainian operations, will help to ensure EDB''s strength for many years to come," Rangnes added.

Pradeep Grama, managing director, Span Infotech, said, "In EDB, not only did we find a match in the value and philosophy but also synergies to expand in both the European and US markets. This relationship enables Span Infotech to be a true global solutions provider. It also provides EDB a significant footprint in India for quality software delivery and in meeting its demands of large projects."

"With this SPAN Infotech enters an era of large projects. It also bolsters news areas and practices that increase the opportunity for the employees to work on exciting technologies." added Pramod Grama, SVP, Span Infotech.