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26 May 2009
Xploite will embark on another ‘buy and build’ project after selling the bulk of its business - IBM reseller Anix - to IT services giant ACS.
Xploite confirmed it was in talks to sell managed services specialist Anix last week and US behemoth ACS was among the names being linked to a possible deal.
Anix is based on three acquisitions Xploite made in 2007 – Anix, Red Squared and Posetiv - and recent purchase Blue River. The agreed price of £31.5m represents a £10.5m profit on the price Xploite paid for those four firms.
Further reading
It is also far higher than the market capitalisation of Xploite itself, which currently stands at just under £23m and represents a multiple of a whopping 13.5 times EBIT for the year ended 31 October.
The disposal leaves Xploite with just a niche storage software arm – Storage Fusion. However, chief executive Ian Smith signalled that Xploite is already eyeing up further buy-and-build opportunies.
“This very competitively priced and unsolicited cash offer provided us withan
excellent cash return at a time of considerable market uncertainly,” he said.
“We are now in a strong position to create further shareholder value by
exploiting our proven expertise, market knowledge and business strategy at time
when valuations are very attractive.”
ACS is transacting the deal through its wholly-owned subsidiary ACS Business Process Solutions. Note that ACS acquired another UK IBM reseller, Syan, at the start of 2008 for around £30.5m, but it is as yet unclear whether ACS will integrate the two firms together.
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