Avanquest Software Acquires Nova Development, Leading Consumer Software Publisher

Pleasanton, CA (PRWeb) January 17, 2007 -- Avanquest Software, a leading developer and publisher of business and consumer software for the global PC market with operations in Europe, North America and Asia, today announced it has acquired Calabasas, CA-based Nova Development, a worldwide developer and publisher of software products for Windows and Macintosh platforms.

Nova Development will augment Avanquest's North American software publishing operations to strengthen Avanquest's product portfolio and position the company as a leader in the U.S. software publishing market, the #1 market in the world.

The combined size of Nova Development and Avanquest Software will make the company's American organization one of the Top 5 consumer software publishers in the United States, excluding Microsoft, and #1 in ten categories (source: The NPD Group; based on sales by dollars). The combined company will have more than 175 SKUs, giving it one of the largest and most diversified catalogs in the United States.

In 2006, Nova Development posted annual sales of approximately $32 million and projects more than $38 million in sales for 2007. The company's level of profitability over the last three years was approximately 10%; the projection for 2007 is for operating income to exceed 11%.

Bruno Vanryb, Founder and CEO of Paris-based Avanquest Software, commenting on the acquisition, stated, "This acquisition enables us to continue our international diversification and strengthen our position in the #1 software market in the world - the United States. Nova Development presents an amazing opportunity and potential for growth: Not only are they a leader in the American market, the company also boasts a line of software and a development model that can be directly transposed on an international scale, as well as on the Internet.

"Besides the numerous synergies between Nova Development and Avanquest Software, this acquisition will also allow us to surpass our very ambitious objective of €100M in sales in 2007, while delivering on our goal to show strong leadership in all of our geographical areas."

Founded in 1984, Nova Development is a market leader in consumer software, ranking #1 in Home Graphics and numerous other categories in the U.S. (source: The NPD Group). Nova currently publishes and distributes more than 70 software titles for both Windows and Macintosh platforms, with nearly half of its annual sales resulting from products developed by the company.

Among the highlights of the Nova catalog are digital photo management tools including Photo Explosion, the bestselling Scrapbook Factory brand, and the popular Art Explosion clip art line. Nova Development also publishes titles under leading brands such as Hallmark in the greeting card software category and Berlitz in the language learning space.

Roger Bloxberg and Todd Helfstein, founders of Nova Development, will both become Avanquest Software shareholders and will continue to hold senior executive management positions after the acquisition. They will also play a leading role in the international development of the group's sales, as well as the implementation of synergies on all of the company's levels.

In a statement issued by Bloxberg and Helfstein, CEO and President, respectively, the pair said, "We are very pleased to become part of the Avanquest family of companies and are excited about the many opportunities that this combination presents. This transaction creates for both parties an enhanced leadership position among consumer software publishing companies - both in North America and in Europe - and creates immediate new opportunities for each party's existing software content in the other's channels."

"Today's announcement represents a tremendous opportunity for us to deliver Nova's industry-leading product portfolio across Avanquest's global publishing operations throughout Europe and parts of Asia," said Christina Seelye, President & CEO of Avanquest Publishing USA. "The Nova team has built a highly compelling array of consumer software solutions that complement Avanquest's mission to enhance the digital lifestyle of consumers and small businesses worldwide. Our organizations share similar values; we always put our users first and are committed to innovating to improve their experience. Together, we are natural partners to create the next generation of ground-breaking consumer software solutions."

Nova Development is based in Calabasas near Los Angeles and currently employs more than 70 people.

About Avanquest Software

Avanquest Software is a leading developer and global publisher of best-selling personal and professional software designed for utilities, office productivity, communications and mobility worldwide. Headquartered in France, with operating units, subsidiaries and offices located in United States, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, China and Korea, Avanquest Software products are marketed in over 100 countries, through e-commerce, OEM partnerships and IT resellers. Founded in 1984 as BVRP Software and listed since December 1996 on Euronext (ISIN FR0004026714), Avanquest Software forms part of the Eurolist, NextEconomy segment and SBF 250 index. In 2005, Avanquest Software posted record financial results, with revenue of €70.6M ($90.6M). Additional information on Avanquest Software is available at http://www.avanquest.com.

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