From: Pierre duPont Subject: ANNOUNCE: Division links with Atma in Italy Date: Fri, 5 Jul 1996 14:06:13 +-100 Message-ID: <01BB6A7B.21741D00@dialin-ppp.division.co.uk> Division Invests in Atma to Strengthen Joint Efforts in Italy Financial link creates largest Italian VR marketing presence; culminates five years of collaborative work. 5 July 1996 - Bristol and Milan - Division Limited and Atma SpA have today announced that Division has purchased a minority holding in Atma to strengthen the ties between the two companies. Atma will become AtmaDivision SpA and the companies will jointly sell industrial VR solutions into the Italian market. Atma has been Division's sole distributor in Italy for more than five years. As the leading VR consulting firm in Italy, Atma has been instrumental in creating an Italian market for virtual reality. "We have worked with Atma for many years, and we are very pleased to be able to strengthen our relationship," said Charles Grimsdale, Managing Director of Division Limited. "By investing in Atma, Division will have a more powerful presence in Italy. Italy has a rapidly maturing VR market and Atma is now positioned and financed to dominate this growing market." "With Division's backing, and the proceeds from Atma's forthcoming private Bond Issue, Atma has the resources and the products to take VR into a wide cross-section of Italian industry," said Cristiano Palazzini, President & CEO of Atma. "Our knowledge of the market in Italy, combined with Division's world-class products, will give our industrial clients a unique and valuable advantage." By directly investing in Atma, Division gains an increased return on the growth of the Italian VR market, while being able to contribute more widely to Atma's activities. At the same time, Atma can capitalize on Division's world-wide presence and broad industrial knowledge. Notes to Editors: Atma SpA - now AtmaDivision SpA - (http://www.atma.it) is the longest-established and most successful virtual reality consulting and sales company in Italy. Founded in 1991 by Cristiano Palazzini, Atma has been leading the Italian market in developing innovative solutions for industrial clients. As a value added reseller for Silicon Graphics, Atma offers complete hardware and software systems for the professional application of virtual reality in addition to the development of custom applications, and offers, through its telecommunication division, additional services such as software for World-Wide Web site creation, and corporate Intranet configurations. Major clients include Aermacchi, Autodesk, Azienda Ospedaliera di Padova, CESI, CINECA, CNR, ENEA, Finsiel, Intergraph, and Memorex Telex. The Division Group of companies (http://www.division.co.uk), the world's leading professional virtual reality group, specializes in providing virtual reality technology, products, and services for advanced engineering, design, and training applications. Headquartered in Bristol, Division has seven offices in the US and Europe, and distributors across Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. The Company has sold integrated virtual reality systems and services to a world-wide customer base of blue chip users that includes BT, Ford, ABB, British Aerospace, Glaxo, US DoD, UK DRA, McDonnell Douglas, Bechtel, NASA, EDS, and Matsushita. Its shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange. Contacts: Pierre duPont, Division Limited phone: +44 1454 615554 email: pierre@division.co.uk http://www.division.co.uk Cristiano Palazzini, Atma SpA phone: +39 2-4816166 email: cp@atma.it http://www.atma.it [MODERATOR'S NOTE: Commercial postings are offered on this newsgroup as a public service. Their appearance here does not indicate endorsement by the moderators or by the USENET or its administrators.]