Avisen to draw on £7m warchest

Buy-and-build reseller explains how Xploite deal will finance ongoing acquisition plans

Time to buy: Avisen says it will not let Xploite's working capital go to waste

Avisen intends to put the cash pile it gained from its acquisition of Xploite to good use as it scours the IBM channel for more acquisition targets.

Avisen emerged as an aggressive consolidator in the IBM Cognos market last year, snapping up Infocube and Inca in quick succession. Last month it completed its £11.38m acquisition of fellow buy-and-build reseller Xploite.

Marcus Hanke, chief executive of Avisen, said that through the Xploite deal the company had acquired £7m of cash for future purchases.

Hanke said there are a number of opportunities in the IBM channel that would represent a “good strategic fit” for Avisen and would allow it to maintain its financial position.

“We would not have done the Xploite deal and brought in that amount of working capital if we intended to sit still and not use it,” he added.

Justin Thomas, solutions architect at IBM Cognos consultancy Planit CPM, said because Avisen’s size and profile is growing its rivals are going to have to work hard to hold on to customers.

“A lot of resellers are going to have to raise their game considerably if they are going to be able to compete against the growth of Avisen,” he said.

“However, customers do not always like to deal with larger companies, so it will be interesting to see if Avisen can maintain these relationships as they grow,” added Thomas.