ESPOO, Finland, Dec. 20, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- TietoEnator Broadcasting IT Oy starts operating on 1.1.2003. It is a joint venture between YLE, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, and TietoEnator (Other OTC:TTNTF) (Stockholm:TIEN). Matti Lehti, the CEO of TietoEnator, and Arne Wessberg, the CEO of YLE, signed the agreement on starting the business on Friday, 20.12.2002.
The CEO of the joint venture will be Seppo Jarvinen who previously was heading TietoEnator's Media Finland unit. The joint venture will be responsible for YLE's IT system development and operating services. Another objective is to develop new IT-based electronic services for radio and TV broadcasting.
A total of 82 IT experts from YLE and 6 from TietoEnator will be transferred to the new company. TietoEnator's stake in the joint venture will be 80% and YLE's 20%.
Initially, the focus will be on TietoEnator's Telecom & Media and Processing and Network Services business areas. Net sales during the first year are expected to reach EUR 12 million, and the value of the fixed assets to be transferred to the new company at the beginning of 2003 is estimated at EUR 4.6 million.
Through these arrangements, TietoEnator will strengthen its position as the leading IT company involved in the media industry in the Nordic countries.
For further details, please contact:
TietoEnator Seppo Jarvinen, CEO of TietoEnator Broadcasting IT Oy tel. +358 9 8626 0270, +358 400 833412 TietoEnator, Timo Hammar, Director of the Media Business Unit tel. +358 3 235 9200, +358 40 709 2090 YLE Arne Wessberg, CEO tel. +358 9 1480 5001 YLE Jorma Laiho, Director of YLE Technology tel. +358 9 1480 5060
With almost 12,000 employees and annual net sales of EUR 1.1 billion, TietoEnator is a leading supplier of high value-added IT services in Europe. TietoEnator specialises in consulting, building and hosting its customers' business operations in the digital economy. The Group's services are based on a combination of deep industry-specific expertise and latest information technology. www.tietoenator.com
The Finnish Broadcasting Company Yleisradio (YLE) is a limited company engaged in public full service TV and radio broadcasting. The duties, operation and financing of YLE are stipulated by law. YLE's principal shareholder is the State. Yleisradio Oy and its distribution subsidiary Digita Oy are structured as a Group of Companies. The Group turnover is EUR 382 million, and it employs a staff of 4100. www.yle.fi
TIETOENATOR CORPORATION DISTRIBUTION
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