Daisy acquires NetCrowd to enhance services play

Telecoms outfit makes first buy in almost a year

Daisy Group is looking to bolster its services offering with the acquisition of support services firm NetCrowd, in a move which Daisy claims will act as a strong base for its growth in the market.

NetCrowd, which was established in 2009, works entirely through the channel with vendors such as Cisco, Juniper, HP and Microsoft. It was acquired last night by Daisy for an undisclosed fee, financed from its existing borrowing facilities.

Berkshire-based NetCrowd will continue to be run by its management team, headed up by managing director Trevor Rolls, and will report to Daisy's wholesale division.

Matthew Riley (pictured), Daisy's chief executive, said of the acquisition: "As a fast-growing business with an experienced management team, we believe this acquisition further enhances our service offering.

"This deal provides a strong foundation for Daisy Group in the growing IP and data market, and is a great strategic fit for the evolution of the business.

"The board believes this acquisition will drive further cross-selling opportunities within our enlarged base while also providing Net Crowd's customers with direct access to the group's full portfolio of products and services."

Daisy has been a frenzied channel consolidator both before and after listing publicly, but its rate of acquisitions has slowed in recent years. NetCrowd is the first deal announced by the firm in about 10 months.