US reseller CIBER is buying Aris Corporation for $31.4m in cash and stock. Aris is a $50m Microsoft-centric systems integrator with operations in the US
and the UK.

Colarado-based CIBER is a $600m t/o business with "27 years of solid experience in the US, Canada and Netherlands".

The company said in a statement: "The IT services industry is over capitalized and calls out for consolidation. The fleeting Internet service providers will all disappear soon, but there are solid `operators' with good employees and strong customer relationships. Aris is such a company".

Aris has a strong balance sheet but is not making an operating profit. CIBER think it can take into the black through "significant synergies, such as corporate offices and branches". ®