Leading Trade Promotion Management Provider MEI Completes Management Buy-Out

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- MEI Computer Technology Group Inc., – a leading developer of Trade Promotion Management (TPM) software for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry – today announced the completion of a management buyout from its Private Equity Investors, with additional backing by Fondaction - a venture capital firm that invests in advanced technology companies.  MEI is continuing its ongoing and rapid expansion within the CPG industry, and continues to exceed its financial goals.  In fact, the Company has signed many new clients over the summer months, including well known CPG manufacturers Ricola, Farmer John's and Coles.  

A pioneer in delivering the most advanced TPM technology to leading North American CPG manufacturers, MEI has been improving the planning, forecasting, and management processes of trade promotions for more than 25 years.  The Company has already achieved growth in 2010, gaining an increase in revenue from its TPM software by 8% over the previous year's third quarter, has cash reserves of 50% and has increased its customer base by 24%.  

"MEI is answering a critical need for CPG manufacturers who have historically struggled to understand the return on their trade spend and brand lift," said Regent Watier, Head of investments at Fondaction.  "Our investment in MEI was based on the Company's consistently strong profitability and financial performance, a seasoned management team led by CPG industry experts, and the unwavering loyalty of its customers -- a combination that is not only difficult to achieve, but is rare in my experience as a VC."

In addition to its significant growth, the Company was awarded a 2010 Annual Reader's Choice Award from Consumer Goods Technology (CGT) Magazine for creating a positive customer experience and for the impact its software brings to its CPG manufacturers.  Additionally, the Company was named a finalist in Canada's "Top 100 Employers" ranking.  More importantly, three of MEI's customers, Kettle Foods, Pacific Natural Foods and Marcal Manufacturing, received SMB Outstanding Achievement Awards by the editors of Consumer Goods Technology.  These awards recognized each manufacturer for being a small to mid-size consumer goods firm that best utilizes technology to achieve substantial growth in size and/or revenue.

"TPM for small and mid-sized CG companies is more relevant than ever.  Large companies have worked out a lot of the kinks and vendors are offering solutions that are not only more configurable than ever but also based on lower cost delivery capabilities such as SaaS and the Cloud," said Dale Hagemeyer, Managing VP Manufacturing - Life Sciences and Consumer Goods, Gartner Inc.  "Meanwhile, trade spend continues out of control so watch for TPM delivered as a service to continue to accelerate in acceptance over the next 2-3 years."

MEI is best known for providing Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies the ability to effectively build, create and manage a promotion strategy in order to drive demand and capture valuable market share.  MEI's TPM solution enables CPG manufacturers to improve decision making while greatly reducing both the cost and complexity of traditional TPM systems and labor intensive manual spreadsheets.  Terms of the agreement are confidential; however, the Company will announce a new board of directors before the end of the year.

"MEI has experienced tremendous growth and solid financial results despite the challenging economic climate," said Lorne Schwartz, CEO of MEI.  "The Company remains committed to providing the highest quality software and services to its customers and maintaining our position as a leading TPM solution for small-to-medium sized CPG manufacturers.  The overwhelming investment by MEI employees not only underscores our collective commitment to delivering superior TPM functionality but will also fuel our highly aggressive and innovative R&D efforts."

About MEI

MEI is a global provider of trade promotion management solutions.  Founded in 1983, MEI enables companies to reshape their sales and marketing activities by directly linking all phases of the planning process, thus improving the efficiency of their customers' trade spending, account management, sales planning, forecasting and reconciling.  The Company provides proven, reliable and highly reference-able sales solutions for the Consumer Goods industry, and continues to help companies such as HJ Heinz Company, Pinnacle Foods Group LLC, Solo Cup, Energizer Personal Care, Morton Salt and The Schwan Food Company increase profits, strengthen brand assets and provide better supply chain and inventory management.  MEI clients through the hosted model include Afexa Life Sciences, American Licorice Company, American Pie, J&J Snack Foods Corp, Marcal Manufacturing LLC, Pacific Natural Foods, Pierre Foods, Ruiz Foods, Sunny Delight, Sunsweet Growers and WhiteWave Foods.  For more information on MEI, please visit www.meicpg.com or call 1-800-INFO-MEI.  

SOURCE MEI Computer Technology Group Inc.