LONDON -- The Board of Intec Telecom Systems PLC (ITL.L) is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Ericsson AB of Sweden to acquire Ericsson's 'Settler' interconnect billing product unit, including the Settler development team and worldwide rights to develop and market the Settler product range. The agreement includes further cooperation between the two companies where Ericsson will continue to offer solutions based on Settler as well as Intec's InterconnecT product suite. The total consideration, to be settled in cash, amounts to US$5.1 million (£3.3 million). The acquisition will be revenue and earnings enhancing, generating new license revenues, related services work and recurring revenues for support & maintenance.Interconnect systems are used by telecoms carriers and service providers to calculate and bill the charges levied for carrying each other's telecoms traffic. These charges generally represent the largest single transactions that a telecom operator undertakes on a regular basis."Ericsson has developed a strong, worldwide customer base for Settler," said Intec's Executive Chairman, Mike Frayne. "By acquiring this product unit we not only bring in a useful additional revenue stream and wider sales channels, but also some interesting technical capabilities in areas such as Least Cost Routing."LM EricssonIntec Telecom Systems plc