Damovo set for growth under new leadership
Refinancing paves the way for integrator's expansion plans
Integrator Damovo has signalled its intent to kickstart its expansion plans after recruiting a new chief executive and completing its refinancing.
Bondholders took control of the pan-European firm from majority owner Apax in January, allowing it to slash debt from €358m to €50m.
New chief executive Mike Parton, formerly chief executive of Marconi, told CRN finalising the new financial structure had “taken a little longer than anticipated”, but was upbeat on Damovo’s prospects.
“All of our cash was used to service debt,” he explained. “Now that the debt has disappeared, we are able to invest our cash back in the business.
“When we’ve had time to assess our maximum organic growth, we’ll see if there are any useful bolt-on acquisitions we can make.”
Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at market watcher EuroLAN, said: “I don’t see much downside to the restructuring. The platform has been placed for Damovo to expand.
However, Tom Kelly, managing director of rival integrator Logicalis UK, said: “What Damovo has now is a different form of debt. Although Parton has a good reputation, he has an uphill struggle to convince partners, such as Nortel, that there is a turnaround, not just on the financial side, but in the firm’s behaviour.”