Menire Corporation and Teamware Group have signed a conditional business purchase agreement for integrating their respective portal businesses into Barium Nordic Group owned by Menire. As a result of this arrangement Barium Nordic will become the leading web solution and information management vendor both in Finland and Sweden. Barium Nordic can now extend its offering particularly to customers in the public and services sectors. The closing of the deal is to take place by the end of November 2004.

Teamware will be a strategic owner in Barium Nordic. Menire remains the major owner with a 70% stake in the company.

Teamware's web solution business including its Pl@za and NetCommunity portal products will be transferred to Barium Nordic's product and consulting business where they will complement the network and information management solution offering. Barium Nordic will purchase Teamware's portal business with its own shares. The new Barium Nordic Group will be an over 7 Meur company with a staff of 100.

Teamware will now focus on developing and providing mobile and groupware solutions.

'There are strong synergies to be achieved by combining our portal businesses. We at Teamware are committed also in the future to grow and develop the portal business together with the customers in the long term. Joining the operations will significantly improve the growth potential of the portal and information management business,' states Rauno Toivonen, President and CEO of Teamware Group.

'Barium Nordic will clearly focus on the Finnish and Swedish markets. The company has an especially strong hold on the public sector, association and services customers,' explains Stefan Björkman, Managing Director of Menire. Barium Nordic has three business units: Products and Services headed by Ben Wrede as well as Consulting headed by Karl Jensen, Managing Director of Helsingin Sähköinen Toimisto.