European Tech Wire

Germany's GFT Buys Parity Subsidiaries for €7.7 Million

London -- Parity Group Plc, a U.K.-based IT staffing and services
provider, announced that it has agreed to offload its subsidiaries in
Germany and France to GFT Technologies AG, a Germany-based
IT services vendor, for approximately €7.7 million in cash. Under
the terms of the deal, GFT will acquire Parity Europe, which
consists of Parity's German business, Parity
Beteiligungsgesellschaft GmbH, and its subsidiaries, as well as
Parity's French operation, Parity Eurosoft SARL. GFT said it
expected to close the deal by month's end. Parity's remaining
operations on the Continent are now in Belgium, the Netherlands
and Switzerland, although the company said these, too, will likely
be sold.
http://www.gft.com

Oxford, Harvard Researchers Launch Anti-Spyware Group

Oxford, England -- Researchers at the universities of Oxford and
Harvard have teamed up to launch a new project that names and
shames suppliers of spyware and other malicious software
programmes. Organisers said the project would try to enlist the
help of Internet users to identify companies that dupe surfers into
putting spyware, adware or other deceptive software on their PCs.
They also said the project would eventually produce tools that help
clean up infested computers. Dubbed the Stop Badware Coalition,
the project enjoys the support of such heavy hitters as Google,
Sun Microsystems and Lenovo.
http://stopbadware.org/

Informatica Acquires Ireland's Similarity for €45 Million

Dublin -- Informatica Corp., a U.S.-based data-integration software
provider, announced that it has acquired privately held Similarity
Systems, an Ireland-based data-quality software firm, for
approximately €45 million ($55 million) in cash. Industry analysts
estimate that the global market for information-quality services will
grow by 12% annually to more than €1 billion by 2008, a fact that
underscores the "growing importance of data quality to such
business imperatives as regulatory compliance", Informatica said.
Under the terms of the deal, Similarity CEO Garry Moroney will
manage Informatica's new data-quality division.
http://www.informatica.com

U.K.-Based Software Firm ClusterSeven Raises €3.5 Million

London -- ClusterSeven Ltd., a U.K.-based provider of spreadsheet
management software, announced that it has raised €3.5 million
(£2.4 million) in first-round venture-capital funding. Quester, a
U.K.-based technology venture-capital firm, led the round.
ClusterSeven said the funds would be invested in product
development and expansion in the U.S. "In the current regulatory
environment, the control of spreadsheets is paramount, and we
believe there is a very substantial global market for ClusterSeven's
products," said Quester Director Henry Sallit. "The company has
built an impressive client base, principally in the U.K., and is
poised for international expansion."
http://www.quester.co.uk/default.asp?section=141&subpage=2016

Dutch BlackBerry Firm GPXS to Acquire Ireland's Galty

Dublin -- GPXS Mobile Workstyle Solutions, a Netherlands-based
support provider for Research In Motion's BlackBerry, announced
that it has agreed to acquire Ireland-based Galty Technologies.
Financial terms were not disclosed. GPXS said the acquisition
would "unite two of Europe's most successful BlackBerry Alliance
Partners". "The acquisition of Galty provides GPXS with a rich set
of applications to quickly expand our BlackBerry applications
portfolio for our customers and partners," said GPXS CEO Jerome
Mol. "This is the first step in our strategy to consolidate the market
of BlackBerry software and services and a key component in
accelerating time-to-market for GPXS."
http://www.gpxs.net/upload/GPXS%20_Acquires_Galty_Technologies.pdf

U.S.-Based eLutions to Acquire France's Wizcon Systems

Paris -- eLutions, a U.S.-based provider of automation technology,
announced that it has agreed to acquire Wizcon Systems, a
France-based provider of technology for monitoring and managing
devices and processes at dispersed sites. Wizcon's product
targets the utilities, building-automation, transportation and
infrastructure, power and energy and industrial-automation
markets. "The acquisition will allow eLutions and Wizcon Systems
to develop an integrated product offering across Europe and North
America, adding wireless capabilities to Wizcon's product line and
dramatically expanding existing distribution channels," said
eLutions co-founder Dan Collins. Financial terms for the deal were
not disclosed.
http://www.wizcon.com/news/press-releases/2006/elution.cfm

Pontis, Truffle Invest €4 Million in Germany's RFiT Solutions

Frankfurt -- RFiT Solutions, a spin off from Germany-based
semiconductor giant Infineon, announced that it has secured €4
million in first-round venture-capital financing. Pontis Venture
Partners led the round, with France-based spin-off specialist
Truffle Venture also participating. RFiT said it would use the funds
for the international expansion of its RFID (radio frequency
identification) platform for system integrators. Founded last July,
RFiT is slated to take over all activities related to RFID systems
from Infineon.
http://www.pontisventure.at

London Stock Exchange to Hold Russian Tech Summit

Moscow -- The London Stock Exchange (LSE) announced that it
will conduct -- in association with the Russian Venture Capital
Association and U.K. Trade & Investment -- a technology
conference on Feb. 10 to promote contact between Russian and
U.K. companies. The LSE said the event would bring together
Russian and U.K. technology companies and analyse the issues
involved in commercialising some of the innovative ideas coming
out of Russia. The forum will focus on some of the key factors to
consider in developing Russian IP in affiliation with U.K. partners.
http://www.russiauktechnology.com/

Cambridge Broadband Appoints Krylander as CEO

Cambridge, England -- Cambridge Broadband Ltd. announced that
it has appointed Bjorn Krylander as its new chief executive officer.
Prior to joining Cambridge Broadband, Krylander worked for
UbiNetics Ltd. and has held a number of positions at Ericsson.
"(Krylander) has an impressive track record of building
telecommunications businesses in the past decade," said
Cambridge Broadband Chairman Hermann Hauser. "He has spent
his career in the wireless industry and understands the market we
are addressing, particularly the needs of cellular operators, one of
our key customer segments."
http://www.cambridgebroadband.com/mi27jan06.htm

Germany's Swyx Appoints Krekeler as VP

Dortmund -- Swyx, a Germany-based vendor of Internet-telephony
applications, announced that it has appointed Michael Krekeler as
vice president of its professional services division. Krekeler has
more than 18 years of experience in the telecommunications and
IT industries. Prior to joining Swyx, he worked for Nortel, where he
was responsible for delivering onsite network operations and
technical support across the EMEA region. Before then, he was
head of Technical Systems for five year's at Deutsche Telekom's
T-Systems.
http://sourcewire.com