Johannesburg, 14 Feb 2012
Dual-listed Hitachi's wholly-owned subsidiary, Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, has wrapped up its purchase of South African-based Shoden Data Systems.
Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) announced last October that it was set to buy out Shoden for an undisclosed amount, in a bid to grow its presence on the African continent. The deal was subject to various regulatory approvals.
Shoden, HDS' only representation in SA, has partnered with the Japanese firm for about 11 years. Shoden provides data centre technology solutions in SA and sub-Saharan Africa.
The Johannesburg-based company has about 140 staff members, and has subsidiaries in the UK, as well as in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Niels Svenningsen, senior VP and GM of HDS' Europe, Middle East and Africa region, says HDS will now be able to offer its services “in a market with huge growth potential”.
The deal will also aid Hitachi's Social Innovation Business unit in expanding globally, says a statement issued by HDS late yesterday.
The company has identified SA as one of the key focus areas for its Social Innovation Business, and buying Shoden will bolster the unit's capabilities across the region.
Hitachi, founded in 1910, has about 360 000 employees worldwide across its 900 subsidiaries. In the year to March 2011, it turned over about $112.2 billion, or about R860.9 billion.
HDS has about 5 400 staff members and operates in more than 100 countries and regions. It provides storage and virtualisation technologies.
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