Logical captains web buy

Reseller Logical brought forward its acquisition of web design company The Web Factory to last Wednesday and terminated the agreed earn-out period ahead of schedule, by mutual consent.

Reseller Logical brought forward its acquisition of Web design company The Web Factory to last Wednesday and terminated the agreed earn-out period ahead of schedule, by mutual consent.

Five directors of The Web Factory agreed to accept unspecified payments and have now left the company to set up a new business under the same name. The remaining 60 employees are now part of Logical's ebusiness division. Laurie Stevens, UK managing director at Logical, said he did not expect any more departures.

Stevens said the move was part of Logical's strategy to move into the top end of e-business services. "If you stay in the plumbing, sooner or later the vendors and telcos are going to eat your business," he said.

Stevens said Logical now plans to increase skills in ecommerce software such as Autonomy and Broadvision. Although buying another group is a possibility, Logical has skills which can be brought to the UK, he said. Logical, which is the reseller arm of South African IT group Datatec, plans to float on the Stock Exchange within a year.