Hungary's largest domestically-owned Microsoft cloud services partner is created

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Gloster Infokommunikációs Nyilvánosan Működő Részvénytársaság (company registration number: 13-10-042012; registered office: 2142 Nagytarcsa, Csonka János utca 1/A A/2.; hereinafter: Company, Gloster) hereby informs its esteemed investors of the following in accordance with the relevant legislation and the General Business Rules of the Budapest Stock Exchange.

Hungary's largest domestically-owned Microsoft cloud services partner is created

The owners of Gloster Cloud Zrt. and Systemfarmer Zrt. have signed an agreement to merge their companies, creating Microsoft's largest Hungarian-owned cloud service partner. The aim of the transaction is to make the merged company the market leader in Hungary and, within a few years, a major player in the region.

In the photo, from left to right: Viktor Szekeres, Chairman Gloster Infocommunications Plc. ; András Téglás, Member of the Board of Directors, Systemfarmer Zrt.; László Földesi, Member of the Board of Directors, Systemfarmer Zrt., after signing the agreement.

The goal of Systemfarmer Zrt.'s professional team of nearly 25 people is to provide high-quality, Microsoft cloud-based IT services to support the digital transformation of its corporate clients by implementing solutions such as Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Copilot. In addition, they specialize in software development and project management services, IT auditing, IT operations and consulting, and IT security solutions. In the coming years, the team and its competencies will be expanded to include artificial intelligence and IT security.

Systemfarmer has helped more than 400 organizations with their digital transformation and has received numerous awards from Microsoft, including multiple Gold and four Silver Partner certifications, the title of "Microsoft Partner of the Year," and four "Fastest Growing Cloud Company" awards. Some of its best-known clients include Net Média Zrt., publisher of Portfolió magazine, the accommodation portal Szallas.hu, the American company Transcend Software Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of design automation software, and the international employment agency WHC Group.

The transaction will take place in two stages: following the conclusion of the agreement, a share exchange will first take place, after which the companies will merge under the name Gloster Cloud Zrt. on January 1, 2025, and will continue to operate as the cloud division of the Gloster Group, supplemented at the management level by the current leaders of Systemfarmer, László Földesi and András Téglás. The parties will use the ten months available until the end of 2024 to thoroughly prepare for the merger, with the aim of enabling the renewed organization, now with nearly 40 employees, to serve the customers of the two companies at a higher level, more quickly, and more flexibly. The transaction is greatly facilitated by the fact that the activities of the two companies overlap significantly. Systemfarmer's financial results will first be included in the Gloster Group's consolidated financial statements for 2024.

This announcement is Gloster Infocommunications Plc. transaction and part of its strategy updated on November 7, 2022, which also included the Company's intention to accelerate its organic growth through the integration of cloud and software development companies. The move is also in line with the $200 million annual corporate development program announced on November 27, 2023. As part of this, Gloster has merged its System Integration and Cloud business sales teams into a unified domestic sales team since January this year, which now markets the offerings of both businesses. As a result of the above measure and the merger with Systemfarmer, management expects higher-than-expected growth in the Cloud business unit's financial results in 2024. This is supported by research from market research company Statista, which expects nearly 50% growth in the public cloud market by 2028 and approximately 160% growth in the artificial intelligence market by 2030.

According to László Földesi: “Although we have been competing in the same field for a long time, our teams are strong in different areas, so we complement each other perfectly. The merger will allow us to work in a much more organized manner with a larger and more professional team. The satisfaction and success of our clients is important to us, and together we can strengthen our position in this field and devote more time to international expansion.”

Viktor Szekeres, President of Gloster, commented on the transaction: "The merger of our cloud subsidiary Gloster Cloud Zrt. and Systemfarmer will create Hungary's largest domestically owned Microsoft cloud service partner company, opening a new chapter in the domestic and regional cloud market. Our goal is to become market leaders through our combined strength, facilitating the digital transformation of our customers with our innovative solutions. This merger highlights our commitment to technological development, the continuous expansion of our dedicated team of professionals, and supporting the success of our customers."

About Gloster

Gloster is a broad-spectrum international IT service provider listed in the standard category of the Budapest Stock Exchange. Over its more than 20-year history, it has evolved from a hardware garage company into a software-focused international medium-sized enterprise. Thanks to its intensive growth strategy, Gloster has completed eleven transactions since 2018 and expanded its activities into the areas of system integration, cloud solutions, and international software development services. The group currently employs a team of nearly 350 people. According to its latest audited consolidated financial statements for 2022 (prepared in accordance with Hungarian accounting standards), its revenue was HUF 6.439 billion, its EBITDA was HUF 940 million, and its after-tax profit was HUF 414 million.

Nagytarcsa, February 16, 2024.

Gloster Infocommunications Plc.
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Further information:

Dr Eszter Bassola

Investor Relations Officer

bassola.eszter@gloster.hu