ATEC Group, Wareforce.com Merge Into National Integrator

Hauppauge, NY-based ATEC Group Inc. will acquire Wareforce.com Inc. (El Segundo CA), a provider of information technology (IT) systems and technical services, in a stock deal expected to be completed in the third quarter of 1999. Under the terms of the agreement, ATEC will issue 0.75 of a share of ATEC common stock for each share of Wareforce.com common stock outstanding.

The deal joins Wareforce's IT expertise with ATEC's a systems integration, software developer, and computer manufacturing capabilities and merges two regional companies, Wareforce on the West Coast and in the Midwest and ATEC on the East Coast, into one national company. The combined entity will produce $300 million in revenue.

Wareforce brings to the merger an extensive customer list of Fortune 1000 and mid-sized companies, government agencies and higher education institutions. Wareforce is one of only 26 large account resellers for Microsoft Corp. (Redmond, WA) in the United States and holds an exclusive sales agent agreement for higher education with Apple Computer (Cupertino, CA) in a five-state area including California—comprising more than one-third of the U.S. academic market.

Orie Rechtman, chairman and CEO of Wareforce will serve as CEO of the combined corporation. Ashok "Tony" Rametra, current ATEC president, will continue as president of the combined company. Rechtman and current ATEC chairman Rametra will serve as co-chairmen.