ASP consolidation: 7 steps in to rescue ailing HOSTeu

NEWS 7 has acquired the business and assets of HOSTeu for an undisclosed fee, which 7 chairman Bill Joss described as "very attractive". Unusually, the acquisition price did not involve a payment for customer goodwill. Joss identified HOSTeu's Microsoft accreditation and the skills of its staff as the main reasons for the takeover. Microsoft's accreditation programme tests ASPs for a range of performance criteria, including service availability and the range of services delivered. So far only Equant and NetStore have achieved gold accreditation under the scheme. Joss told silicon.com: "HOSTeu was about to become the second gold accredited UK ASP. We will also be taking on about 20 people who are as qualified or more qualified than our own staff." Microsoft confirmed that HOSTeu was on the accreditation list, but could not comment definitively about how soon it would achieve accreditation. Joss added: "HOSTeu were also one of only 12 partners in Microsoft's Joint Development Programme, and the only ones who worked on preparing Microsoft Exchange 2000 for the ASP market." Joss also confirmed that 7 was on the look-out for further acquisitions. "We've already identified a couple of opportunities in the US," said Joss. "We're looking for someone with a functioning datacentre which can be developed into a services aggregator," he said. 7 is also looking for "one or two" further UK acquisitions, with a view to "gaining qualified people" rather than buildings or accreditation. Though Joss did not release figures, he confirmed that the group had just completed a second round of interim funding worth £2m, from their original backers, London Merchant Securities PLC. A £15m second funding round is coming up soon. "We've drawn up a shortlist of bidders," said Joss. "While funding is drying up in the States, there's still some interest in ASPs in Europe and the UK, as long as you have some 'traction' - If you have customers, you're running pilots and so on. We've been experiencing a lot of interest."