Article from The Scotsman

Sun 12 Dec 2004

RUMOUR OF THE WEEK

DOUGLAS FRIEDLI

TAKEOVER talk returned to Thus, the telecoms group, after Columbia Ventures of the US upped its stake from 6.5% to 7.1%.

Thus was last week forced out of the FTSE 250 index following a collapse in its share price prompted by sharply increased losses. Some investors are concerned that Thus may be missing out on the latest round of consolidation among smaller telecommunications companies.

Fridays purchase by Columbia Ventures put 0.5p on Thus share price, lifting it to 14.25p on heavy trading. Columbia, an investment firm, owns Hibernia Atlantic, the company behind a new cable linking the US, Canada, Ireland and the UK.

Analysts believe Columbia may be interested in adding Thus to its portfolio of telecoms and industrial businesses stretching from Iceland to Mexico.

A few weeks ago, a Columbia spokesman described Thus as "an interesting company in an exciting market".

Columbia Ventures is a privately-owned investment company headquartered in Vancouver, WA. Its major investments are in CTC Communications, the largest facilities-based Competitive Local Exchange Carrier headquartered in New England; Hibernia Atlantic, a transatlantic fiber-optic cable providing broadband connections between Boston, Halifax, Dublin and the United Kingdom; Og Vodafone, a full-service facilities-based telecommunications company in Iceland; Globalstar, the satellite telephony and data provider; Tecnol, an aluminum extruder in Mexico; and Columbia Commercial Building Products in Rockwall, Texas.

The recent purchases could be the precursor to a bid, or as a holding company they might just want a stake in what they think is an undervalued Company with a future. Had the feeling for some time that something could happen, if not now, then in the new year. If not from Columbia then someone else. Hopefully they won't drop much from their present position and there is a good upside prospect. Worth a punt IMO. Thinking of doubling tomorrow if they do not run away from me.

Great start today. Putting the Telco sector into flavour.

Look at TTL also go.

Should move fast after 15p.
About 1M (750k +200k) buy at 15p earlier in the day.

Thus wins 'multi-million' stg contract with Johnston Press
AFX


LONDON (AFX) - Thus Group PLC said it has won a multi-million sterling contract from Johnston Press, the regional newspaper and internet publisher, to provide a converged MPLS Wide Area Network (WAN).

Thus said it will link more than 160 Johnston Press sites, including local newspaper offices (such as the Yorkshire Post and Sheffield Star) with a WAN network that will centralise business applications and position the company for the migration to Voice over IP (VoIP).

Any ideas as to why the price hasn't moved despite the RNS & 9 Million trades so far today? You would have thought there would be some movement in price.

Thanks

Chris

Chrispine, it appears to be a feature of THUS that when new contracts are announced the sp goes down, today so far the price is unchanged. Lets take this as being positive :-))
Perhaps it is because this is a Yorkshire based contract and KCOM being a player around here that the market thinks that the margins may have been cut to get the deal.

Chripine, where did you get your trade figs? showing as 4.7 million on am

Sorry Opto..got squiffy eyes for a minute there

chris

your eyes didnt go squiffy - a trade for 4.6m showed up for a while taking the vol to 9m then disappeared

Thanks Fundy, I missed that one, do you think they took them back and got a refund :-)

I wouldn't be asking for a refund just yet !

Full details on Website Thus.net.


6 January 2005

THUS Wins Multi-Million Pound Contract From Johnston Press
Leading publishing company selects THUS to provide bespoke MPLS Wide Area Network
January 6, 2005 - THUS plc today announced that it has won a multi-million pound contract from Johnston Press, one of the UK's leading regional newspaper and Internet publishers, to provide a converged MPLS Wide Area Network (WAN). THUS will link more than 160 Johnston Press sites, including many well known local newspaper offices (such as the Yorkshire Post and Sheffield Star) with a resilient WAN network that will centralise business applications and position the company for the migration to Voice over IP (VoIP).

As a UK newspaper and Internet publisher, Johnston Press relies heavily on the transfer of data in its day-to-day business. Stories, photographs, advertisements and even complete newspaper pages need to be moved quickly from one office to another to ensure that Johnston's 240 newspapers are ready to print on time and its web sites are updated continuously. The company wanted to improve network performance and resilience, and needed a supplier with the experience and capabilities to provide this, along with a migration path to VoIP. THUS's competence in the media sector made it an obvious choice for Johnston Press, who selected the company following a competitive tender with some of the UK's leading telecommunications providers.

"We chose to work with THUS, not only because its solution fulfilled our needs but also because the company's people and its knowledge of the media sector impressed us," commented Graham Gould, head of information technology at Johnston Press. "THUS worked hard to fully understand our needs and worked closely with us to tailor a solution that suited our business. THUS will now play a crucial role in improving our overall network performance and resilience, and allow us to be more efficient in our operations and so serve our customers better."

Network downtime has an immediate and serious impact on business performance in the publishing sector because newspapers can't be printed if the network fails. Using a range of connectivity methods to take into account the size and diversity of Johnston Press' offices, THUS will provide a range of connections to 43 core sites and private access DSL (PaDSL) connections at 113 regional sites around the UK. The network will enable Johnston Press to support all its editorial and advertising databases as well as email, Internet, intranet, financial data, page transfers and voice calls in the future.

In addition to this, the network will be convergence ready, allowing Johnston Press to roll-out VoIP and move away from traditional telephony between its sites in the future.

"Because it already has a highly competent internal technology team, Johnston Press needed a supplier that could complement this resource," said Phil Male, Chief Operating Officer, THUS plc. "THUS is a proven player in the media sector, already providing technologically advanced solutions to a number of large media companies Through this experience, we understand the challenges facing this sector and are well positioned to tailor solutions that provide our customers with a competitive edge. The Johnston Press win adds to our media portfolio and further endorses our experience in this area."

http://www.Thus.net.

So called full details - doesnt tell the size or length of the contract

Sorry I meant the full details publisged on their web site

Hi BANKONE, sure Fundy was not critical of you, more the company for lack of info. At least they have announced it as a multi million pound contract which must indicate it will extend for several years rather than just One or two.
opto

Spot on Opto

Bankone - the criticism was aimed at the info in the RNS not you

Bit of old news below from Thus web site in relation to NATS contract which would appear again has no value and details re length of contract - but may become relevant as in this mornings Daily Mail it makes partuclar reference in the City and Finance (Not to THUS) but to Nats and reads as follows:-

"Britains Air Traffice Control operator handled more flights than ever with fewer delays last year. National Air Traffic Services handled 2.18m flights through the UK airspace in 2004, up 4.9pc. The average delay fell from 44 secs to 25 secs."

16 December 2004

National Air Traffic Services Chooses THUS To Improve Network Communications With The Western Isle
December 15 2004 - THUS plc today announced that it has won a new contract with the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), to provide resilient connections between NATS remote radar and radio sites in the Western Isles in Scotland and its Air Traffic Control Centre in Prestwick. This service will play a fundamental part in NATS plans to provide greater resilience to the existing radar and radio services covering the transatlantic flights leaving and arriving in the UK.

NATS provides air traffic control services to aircraft flying within UK airspace and over the eastern part of the North Atlantic. NATS currently handles more than two million flights carrying in almost 200 million passengers per year, with this figure expected to reach three million flights by 2010. In order to do this, and maintain overall safety, NATS is currently undertaking a renewal programme at many of its radar and radio facilities. As part of these restructuring plans, THUS is assisting NATS in its creation of a data and communications ring linking all of its sites by providing alternate routes to its sites in the Western Isles by deploying new microwave installations into these remote areas.

THUS already supports a number of NATS sites in the Scottish Isles and has proven that it has the technical competence to deliver this new service. THUS worked in conjunction with NATS on this project to undertake physical surveys to identify the best places to construct new microwave installations and structured a commercial deal to support this part of the NATS project. These new links will further enhance NATS existing network, enabling NATS to maintain their own high level of service, ensuring that the UK airspace is kept as safe as possible. NATS establishes strict Service Level Agreements for all services providers to ensure that availability and reliability is kept at an optimum level at all times.

Phil Male, Chief Operating Officer, THUS plc, said, "At THUS we fully understand that communication services can be mission critical for our customers and given our track record of proving high quality of service, we are confident that the solution we are providing to NATS will more than meet its high expectations. We are pleased to have extended our long-standing relationship with NATS to provide additional scope to its project by helping to make airline services more proficient and heighten safety."

Another bit of news that hasn't hit this BB.

17 January 2005

THUS Launches 1 MB Soho Broadband Package
Demon HomeOffice range provides low cost ADSL with superior business functionality
17 January 2005 - THUS plc today launched Demon HomeOffice, its range of new broadband products aimed at SoHo (Small office Home office) businesses, small enterprises and heavy residential users. The new range introduces a 1Mbps service 'Demon HomeOffice 1000' and also includes a 500Kbps service 'Demon HomeOffice 500'. Both services deliver always-on, high-performance Internet connectivity with key business features delivered at competitive pricing.

The HomeOffice range provides greater services and support than most standard broadband packages on the market. Business users can take advantage of a variety of features including a static IP address for secure remote access to company servers over a VPN, 20 Mb homepage hosting - enough for small business users to create a professional online presence - and free electronic fax and companion dial-up so that users can connect to email when on the move. Unlimited email addresses are also supplied with free Demon Spam Filtering, as well as optional supported Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), which provides users with a choice of modem, router or wireless router. In addition, users have access to round-the-clock dedicated telephone support from THUS's experienced technical support team.

Ideal for home working and small offices that need a fast Internet connection, HomeOffice 500 and 1000 provides users with a fixed monthly fee for unlimited, uncapped broadband access. Users can download large files and content in seconds, without having to worry about exceeding usage or download restrictions and incurring additional costs. Competitively priced at 24.99 per month for HomeOffice 500 and 29.99 per month for HomeOffice 1000 (both inclusive of VAT), the packages provide business services at affordable pricing, enabling SoHo workers to control their overall Internet costs.

""Until now, many SoHo workers have been at a disadvantage, having to pay through the nose for sufficient bandwidth with appropriate business support. After listening to our customers requirements we decided to launch the Demon HomeOffice range so that SMEs and home office customers could have all the broadband functionality required for their business at affordable costs," said Nigel Stevens, Product Director at THUS plc. "Through our continued commitment in developing the Demon Broadband portfolio, THUS now has the most comprehensive collection of SME targeted broadband products on the market which appeal to SoHo workers as well high-end SME users that require a top-end uncapped service."

Customers who sign up for one of the HomeOffice packages before the end of March 2005 can take advantage of THUS's introductory promotion. The offer comprises of a free installation worth 50 and an optional free modem worth 35 for all subscribers. "

The new HomeOffice products will replace THUS's Demon Express range of broadband products, which will be taken off the shelf in January 2005. The HomeOffice range is the latest offering from THUS's Demon branded communications portfolio, which includes Internet access, hosting and telephony services. More information on the Demon HomeOffice range is available from www.demon.net.

Click here to download the pdf of this release (10K)

bankone

is it just me or is the latter reports offering both reactive and not competitive on a price basis