Publicly listed VARs make first acquisitions of 2010

Daisy and Spiritel have both emerged as aggressive consolidators

Acquisitive telecoms resellers Daisy Group and Spiritel have made their first purchases of 2010.

The duo, both of which are listed on the London Stock Exchange, emerged as aggressive consolidators last year and both have added to their expanding empires again in the past week.

Daisy, which last summer gobbled up a number of large comms VARs including Eurotel and AT Communications, has stumped up about £6.3m for Managed Communications Limited.

Meanwhile, Spiritel last week notched up its ninth conquest since 2006 in the form of Swansea-based Mitel partner Boucon Network Solutions. Spiritel vowed to continue with its ‘acquire, integrate and grow’ strategy in December after bagging a further £10m in funds.

Daisy said Managed Communications’ bonded DSL offering would allow it to cater for the bottom 25 per cent of the leased-line market.

Nottingham-based Managed Communications has about 800 SME customers, revenues of £3.8m and an EBITDA of £1.6m. Daisy will cough up £4.65m on completion of the deal and a second instalment estimated at £1.66m after six months, based on upcoming accounts. An earn-out consideration is also payable in 2011.

Daisy chief executive Matthew Riley said: “Strategically, this is the right acquisition for us as we move forward into a data-rich and more converged world. The combination of Managed Communications and their product offering, with Daisy's sales force and SME customer base, creates cross-selling potential and the opportunity for margin improvement.”