This year, 2009, is ending in a very dynamic way for Bull, with some significant contracts which we will be able to tell you more about in the future; worldwide award for Bullx, named as the best supercomputer of the year by HPCwire, the benchmark journal in the sector (who would have bet that the supercomputer judged to be the best in the world would be the European one?); the launch of mobull, our revolutionary ‘plug & boot’ container; and finally, the proposed acquisition of Amesys, which will bring a whole new dimension to Bull and help us prepare for the future.
The plan to acquire Amesys, which specialises in signal detection and processing, is a fundamental step in the Group’s transformation. Thanks to the excellent technological, cultural and commercial synergies between our two businesses, our joint activities will be at the very heart of tomorrow’s ultra-connected world. Every sector of the economy, and every business will be affected by this new world. The unique combination of expertise in detection and processing of information, as part of an integrated offering, will create significant added value and prove to be a key factor when it comes to the competitiveness and sovereignty of our customers.
Our aim is to create a European leader in large-scale information processing solutions for critical, high-security systems. We are the only European company capable of building the kind of ‘computing power plants’ needed for ‘Cloud computing’ and Amesys is the European leader in signal processing.
Together, we are going to offer end-to-end solutions – from signal capture to business intelligence – for sensitive sectors such as defense, homeland security, energy, transport and logistics, industry, telecoms, healthcare… What is more, this investment in a sector that looks set to enjoy very high levels of growth, will further strengthen Bull’s shareholder structure. Crescendo Industries, the current owners of Amesys, will become a key shareholder, with 20% of Bull’s capital. Strengthening our core industrial shareholder base was one of our stated objectives; this will be accomplished through this initiative, which will be submitted for approval to the regulatory authorities and an Extraordinary General Meeting of Bull shareholders in mid-January.
This will open up a whole new and exciting chapter in Bull’s history. We are impatient to finalize this deal, which will bring with it so many new opportunities for our customers. Thank you again for your continued confidence in Bull, and may I wish you a very happy Festive Season.
Didier Lamouche
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
