19-06-2012

KBC announces £9.5 million acquisition of Infochem

KBC Advanced Technologies plc ("KBC" or "the Group") is pleased to announce it has purchased Infochem Computer Services Limited ("Infochem"), a leading provider of specialised software and services to the upstream oil and gas industry, for an enterprise value of £9.5m.

The acquisition of Infochem is the first step in KBC's growth strategy to both expand into the upstream energy industry and increase software sales as a proportion of overall sales. It provides KBC with a leading position in the provision of specialised software used in the development and production segments of the upstream oil and gas industry. This complements KBC's reputation as a leading provider of specialised software and services to the downstream oil and gas market.

Infochem brings to the Group rich software and intellectual property ("IP") in the chemistry of oil and gas fluids that enables accurate modelling of reservoir fluids to maximise production – "flow assurance". The flow assurance market in oil and gas development and production has been buoyant in recent years, with application both in conventional and alternative unconventional oil and gas production.

The combination of KBC's detailed engineering, process simulation and energy management technologies with Infochem's capability and understanding of reservoir and production fluids behaviour will provide the enlarged group with a powerful set of engineering software solutions for use in both the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry. The combination of the two companies will also deliver strong synergies by combining their software development and sales functions and through the ability of Infochem's flow assurance models to expand the reach of KBC's Petro SIMTM software into the upstream market. The enlarged Group's clients include asset owners, operators, oilfield service companies and EPC contractors.

For more information, please visit www.kbcat.com