JSE-listed Business Connexion (BCX), which this morning released its annual results, has bought Integr8 IT from the Integr8 Group for R126 million through its UCS subsidiary.
BCX says it bought out Integr8 Group's IT unit to enhance its competitive advantage in the mid-market corporate space, expand beyond its enterprise focus, and create a complementary platform of services markets. The deal will also broaden UCS Solutions' historic retail-focused infrastructure services, it says.
Integr8 retains its other assets, which includes social payment service ZunguZ, as well as its rental and fax units and its property portfolio. Integr8 started out in 2001 as an ICT management and managed services company.
The listed company bought four UCS companies last year, paying R614.2 million for Accsys, CEB Maintenance Africa, Destiny Electronic Commerce, UCS Solutions and UCS Technology Services before selling Destiny to VeriPhone, for R255 million. It acquired a majority stake in managed print solutions group Canoa last June.
Accretive acquisitions
For the year to August, the group said it grew revenue by 35.1%, to R5.8 billion, while its gross profit margin gained from 30.9% to 31.5%, partially thanks to higher margin business from the UCS assets and the Canoa Group.
BCX adds that its margins gains were also due to good performances from its other divisions. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation gained 59.6%, to R511.9 million.
CEO Benjamin Mophatlane says the "strategic acquisitions made over the past 24 months have been successfully integrated into the business' overall strategy and have made significant contributions to the group's results".
Diluted earnings per share were 37.2c, up from 27.6c, while diluted headline earnings per share were 38.8c, compared with 17.2c last year.
Cash payment
BCX's latest acquisition, Integr8 IT, will be paid for through an initial cash payment of R56 million, with the balance of R70 million payable as earn-out payments over three years. BCX ended the year with cash and cash equivalents of R443.9 million.
The acquisition cancels a cautionary that has been in effect for some time after the company, in August, reiterated a July cautionary. Last November, BCX withdrew a four-month-old cautionary, initially issued in August, which sparked rumours that BCX was in talks with Orange, the key brand of France Telecom.
Intergr8 IT was established in 2001 by joint Integr8 CEOs Robert Sussman and Lance Fanaroff, and is currently one of the largest privately-owned ICT managed services companies, the company says. It provides annuity-based infrastructure management and managed services to mid-market corporates throughout SA.
"This deal makes real sense to Business Connexion and Integr8 IT, as well as our respective personnel and clients," says Sussman. Intergr8 IT offers services such as: private on-premise and off-premise cloud services, public cloud services, virtualisation, storage, routing, switching, security, hosting, connectivity, Internet services and disaster recovery.
BCX already has about 6 600 staff and acquiring Integr8 adds about another 550 personnel to the group, with 286 full-time employees and 264 regional contactors. The deal is subject to conditions.
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