Vox buys AmVia

By Christelle du Toit, ITWeb senior journalist

Johannesburg, 16 Nov 2007

Fax services provider AmVia confirms it has been bought by Vox Telecom, but declines to disclose the value of the deal.

AmVia MD Kevin Hurwitz this morning said he was not yet willing to disclose the value of the 100% buyout, or whether it was a cash deal or a combination of cash and shares.

However, he expressed his satisfaction with the transaction.

"Vox has become an important player in the telecoms market and we will bring another dimension to their offering.

"We will also expand our product offering" once in the Vox stable, he adds.

Vox recently announced it is buying Storm Telecom, as well as Absa Internet Access (AIA). It also concluded four transactions in quick succession to raise its black empowerment shareholding to 41%.

Yesterday, Vox announced a 404% increase in revenue. It said the Storm and AIA deals could boost its revenue to the R2 billion mark in 2008.

The company is still on the acquisition trial and is looking beyond SA`s borders for possible take-over targets.

This latest deal will become effective on 1 December. Hurwitz says part of the transaction is that the entire AmVia management team stays intact when the company moves over to Vox.

"Vox has a history when it comes to acquisition of letting the companies run independently which we certainly appreciate," says Hurwitz.

Vox was not available to comment on the deal this morning.