GTG Concludes Encore Acquisition.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 1999--The Gores Technology Group (GTG) has concluded the acquisition of the real-time business of Encore Computer Corp. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Since signing a definitive agreement to acquire this business on June 1, GTG has been operating the real-time

The real-time business consists of developing and marketing real-time data systems both in the United States and overseas for such diverse applications as military aircraft simulators, utility power stations and rapid transit systems. Customers include most major airlines, Boeing, Northrup Grumman, Electrabel, Lockheed, Raytheon and Consolidated Edison.

"We made substantial progress while operating under the management contract for the past six months," said Michael Oehler, president of the new GTG subsidiary, Encore Real Time Computing Inc. "Our sales increased by 20 percent over the previous six months, and we have put the company on a profitable track, generating positive net income in our most recent quarters."

"The Gores approach is to determine the needs of a newly acquired company's key customers and then formulate a business makeup and strategy to be responsive to those needs," said GTG President, Vance Diggins. "We plan and budget our activities and R&D to support that strategy. Our annual R&D investment in newly acquired companies averages 20 percent of revenues."

"That's exactly what we have been doing over the past six months," Oehler said. "I have spoken personally to many of our customers, and software upgrades and hardware enhancements have been planned accordingly.

"Also, we refocused our product line and fast-tracked several software projects to bring them to completion quickly. As a result, we are negotiating several large contracts now that will have significant impact on our sales and profits.

"With GTG's support, we also solidified our service capability and our overseas operations. COMPRO Computer Services has agreed to be our hardware service provider in the United States and will also be a reseller of refurbished Encore products. Overseas, we reorganized our European branches and entered into a new agreement with our Japanese distributor."

GTG pursues an aggressive strategy of acquiring promising high-technology organizations and then managing them for growth and profitability. With this acquisition strategy and strong internal expansion, GTG has rapidly grown to become a leading international technology acquisition and management company.