Datatec promises complementary acquisitions
Logicalis and Westcon Group boosted by their parent company's pledge
Datatec boost for UK firms
Two of the UK channel’s largest players – VAR Logicalis and distributor Westcon Group – have been given a shot in the arm with the promise of complementary acquisitions from parent company Datatec.
After floating on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) last week, Jens Montanana, Datatec’s chief executive, told CRN the firm will move forward as “a pro-active consolidator in a fragmented market”. As part of the listing, shares were offered at 192p per share, raising £13.9m before expenses.
“We want acquisitions on both the Logicalis and the Westcon sides,” Montanana said. “With Logicalis, we want to improve our IT services mix.
“With Westcon, we will make acquisitions to expand our geographical footprint. These will probably be outside the UK. However, we may look to get a UK firm in a sector such as security or storage.”
When asked when the next acquisition will be made, Montanana said: “[The channel] will hear more from us this year. We have two or three things on the go in the UK.”
George O’Connor, technology analyst at investment analyst firm Shore Capital, said: “Datatec’s stock could appear risky to investors. It has come to the market at a difficult time as investors are unsure about the channel environment.”
O’Connor added that technology and channel firms that have listed recently have not been particularly strong performers.
“Datatec does have scale, which is very important on the distribution side,” he said. “It is also important because end-users are becoming more picky and often want to work with larger channel firms.
“Datatec is an international business, so it was always going to list in either the US or London, but the costs are lower in London.”
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