Ernst Homolka, spokesperson of the Managing Board and Director of Finances at Nemetschek AG, believes that this strategic move will greatly boost the company's product portfolio and significantly increase the customer base to around 270 000. According to Ernst Homolka: "The corporation now offers the most powerful range of products and solutions covering everything customers need when designing real estate." Nemetschek was able to take this step to actively enhance the company thanks to positive economic trends over the last few years, a strong cash flow and an overall favourable financial situation.

The acquisition will allow Nemetschek to strengthen its design business unit. The spokesperson of the Managing Board says that the transaction will result in a huge increase in sales for the Nemetschek group in 2007, helped notably by the high sales of Graphisoft's architecture division. Other business units are also expecting to feel the positive effects of the takeover.

Jointly paving the way to a leading global position

Nemetschek has made a name for itself in the building and real estate sector. Its wealth of expertise has helped it become a leading supplier of innovative technologies and IT solutions. "By buying into Graphisoft, we are adding further impetus to the development of the Building Information Model and the efficient exchange of intelligent model data in the construction industry (IFC)," explains Dr. Peter Mossack, member of the Managing Board with responsibility for Research and Development at Nemetschek AG.

"We believe that the acquisition provides us with a good opportunity for accessing new groups of customers," says Michael Westfahl, member of the Managing Board with responsibility for Sales and Marketing at Nemetschek AG. Solutions from Nemetschek and Graphisoft offer positive user benefits, state-of-the-art technology and reliable quality. According to Michael Westfahl, the two companies will pursue coordinated strategies to markedly improve their position on the market. The takeover of Graphisoft also means that the number two supplier of planning tools on the Apple Macintosh platform now falls within the umbrella of the Nemetschek group.

"Graphisoft is a global player and thanks to its main product Archicad it has an established solution, a strong brand and a worldwide base of customers. This will help the Nemetschek group gain further shares of the global market," says Michael Westfahl, who adds: "Dominance in terms of technology and security of investment are key criteria for our customers in the highly competitive software market. Through our acquisition of Graphisoft, all Graphisoft users will also benefit from the scale of the entire Nemetschek group."

Public takeover bid in mid January 2007

In mid January 2007, Nemetschek will submit a public takeover bid for the remaining 45.7 percent of Graphisoft shares. The price will again be EUR 9 a share. The company will provide details of the transaction on 10 January 2007 at a press conference in Munich.