Growth-hungry Sage VAR BDE Group is planning to make a number of strategic acquisitions during 2006 in an effort to strengthen and expand its market presence.
Last year the reseller secured £10m worth of funding for acquisitions, of which it used roughly £5m to acquire mid-market Sage resellers Object Group and Apex.
John Linney, managing director of BDE Group, told CRN: “We have identified a number of opportunities in the market that we intend to turn into acquisitions in 2006. This will lead to both strategic and operational growth opportunities for us.
“We are taking advantage of consolidation in the market at present to further our strength and influence,” added Linney.
Rival Sage and Pegasus VAR Technology Services Group (TSG) has become well know for its ongoing acquisition spree in recent years and made multiple acquisitions last year alone (CRN, 1 August).
However, Linney denied BDE was embarking on a similar acquisition strategy to challenge TSG.
“TSG targets the lower mid-market and we are slightly above this market. It appears TSG is trying to buy customers, but we use acquisitions strategically and for business growth,” he said.
Nigel Hudson, business development manager at TSG, disagreed and claimed more BDE acquisitions will cause competition.
“There is an overlap with BDE on its Sage products, but we have a wider range of products and services. BDE will be a competitor of ours, but it’s a huge market and this will help to keep us on our toes,” he said.
Hudson also claimed that BDE could be embarking on a similar growth strategy to TSG.
“BDE seems to have begun a geographical spread of acquisitions similar to us, but such high-profile and credible competition will help to enlarge the market,” he added.
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