US firm buys Mindware

THE US Gartner Group has bought the Limerick computer based training company Mindware Training Technologies for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition, due to be formally completed within the next month, will create up to 40 new jobs in the short term and is expected to lead to a major expansion of the Limerick plant.

Mindware, which currently employs 21 people, specialises in computer based training and multimedia products in the telecommunications and networking sectors.

Managing director Mr Terry O'Brien refused to reveal how much Gartner had paid for the company but said the figure was "significant".

Gartner, which is a division of Dun & Bradstreet, has bought Mindware as part of its diversification into the computer based training sector. Gartner is also buying two other similar companies in the United States - Relational Courseware and J3 Learning - and will merge the three businesses into a new unit.

Mr O'Brien said that the 40 new jobs were "just for starters". He said that Gartner had exciting development plans for the group and that access to the US company's sales force of 340 would help boost turnover. Mr O'Brien will be one of five directors of the new Gartner division.

The Limerick plant, which has a turnover of $4 million (£2.56 million) will probably be the major development site for the new group, according to Mr O'Brien.

When the three acquisitions are completed, the Gartner group's new division, which will have annual sales of $30 million, will offer more than 325 training titles, including multimedia, video, and computer based products.

Mindware, which is owned by Mr O'Brien and his wife Mary, was established in Dublin with IDA Ireland support in 1988 and moved to Limerick two years later. It has had grants of £150,000 from Shannon Development.

Mindware, which competes in the same market as the NASDAQ quoted Irish company CBT Systems, has 25 PC based products in its portfolio and is currently test marketing another 20. Mr O'Brien said the Gartner Group was confident that the skill base in Limerick would enable it to become a key player in the computer based training sector worldwide.