Dimension Data's R328 million offer to acquire Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed AccessKenya has gone unconditional, as all the pre-conditions of the offer have been satisfied.
Dimension Data is expected to pay shareholders, who accepted the offer, on 6 September; taking it to majority shareholder status. Dimension Data received acceptances from shareholders owning 89% of the shares in issue.
Some 99.92% of shareholders also voted in favour of the Kenyan company being delisted.
Dimension Data said in May it made an offer on the open market to purchase 100% of AccessKenya's shares in issue for the equivalent of R1.50, valuing the deal at around R327.6 million.
Internet Solutions International MD Nick Reed says the deal "represents another important step in the group's plan to be the leading provider of converged services across ICT and telecommunications to the enterprise, corporate and SME markets in East Africa".
Founded by brothers David and Jonathan Somen, the AccessKenya Group was one of the first Internet service providers to launch in Kenya in 2000. The company, which was also the first ICT company to list on the Nairobi exchange, employs 340 staff, and provides predominantly connectivity-based data services to about 6 000 corporate customers in Kenya.
"We are particularly excited by AccessKenya's leading-edge metropolitan fibre network, which covers 430km and connects over 560 buildings in the main urban centres of Nairobi and Mombasa, as well as its outstanding customer base of over 6 000 corporate leased lines," says Reed.
AccessKenya MD Jonathan Somen says: "The time is ripe for AccessKenya to leverage the skill set and resources within the broader group and accelerate investment in the business, and to expand the breadth, depth and scale of the solutions, service and value for money we offer to our clients."
AccessKenya turned over KES1.9 billion last year, which it expects to reach KES2 billion in 2013. Dimension Data was bought out in a R24.4 billion deal by Japan-based NTT a few years ago.
Share
