Calian Expands European Presence with Acquisition of Norway-based Training Company

OTTAWA, July 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Calian Group Ltd. (TSX: CGY) has broadened its presence in Europe with the acquisition of Comprehensive Training Solutions International (CTS), a boutique training firm based in Stavanger, Norway.

CTS designs, develops and delivers complex training exercises for the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC), a multi-national and multi-service organization of NATO, and the wider NATO audience across Europe.

“It is very exciting to be joining the Calian team – together we will have an opportunity to continue our important training delivery for NATO while expanding business in Europe,” said John Cullen, owner and Managing Director, CTS.

“I look forward to working with John and the CTS team as we continue to expand our business in the European market, in the areas of defence and training exercises. I was very pleased to see their team’s cultural alignment with Calian’s, which is an important strategic consideration in our M&A playbook,” said Don Whitty, Vice President, Learning, Calian. “We see excellent potential in our combined expertise, plus Calian’s leading training software solutions, Calian MaestroEDE and Calian ResponseReady.”

“With trailing annual revenues of approximately $4 million and a positive margin profile, we expect CTS to be EBITDA accretive within the first twelve months,” said Patrick Houston, Chief Financial Officer, Calian. “A presence in Norway supports Calian’s access to the European market, which continues to be key to the Calian growth strategy.”

“I would like to extend a very warm welcome to the CTS team. We are excited to work together,” said Kevin Ford, President and Chief Executive Officer, Calian. “This boutique acquisition signifies the European market’s importance to Calian’s growth strategy. Last year we acquired Germany-based SatService, an innovative player in European satellite ground systems market. CTS will support the growth of Calian’s business in Europe as well as customer diversification, a key pillar within Calian’s four-pillar growth framework.”

About Comprehensive Training Solutions
Comprehensive Training Solutions (CTS) specializes in the creation of complex and realistic training environments for both defence and civil clients across Europe and worldwide. CTS was originally formed to develop and deliver complex training scenarios for NATO. The team has expanded to deliver this high-level of training to international organizations, corporations, businesses, NGOs and private clients. Learn more at http://cts.international/