London- and Johannesburg-listed Datatec has completed its acquisition of Netstar and will issue 5.5 million new shares to pay for the company.
The completion of the $19.8 million deal represents Datatec's first big step into the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), which it sees as an area for growth.
Netstar is a regional Asia-Pacific Cisco-focused network integrator, with operations in Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and mainland China. It will be integrated into Datatec's ICT infrastructure solutions and service business, Logicalis.
Logicalis had an operation in Australia, but this was sold several years ago. Purchasing Netstar re-establishes the subsidiary's presence in the region.
Frost & Sullivan ICT industry analyst Spiwe Chireka says “a strong presence in APAC could be highly profitable in the short-term, as Frost & Sullivan believes the region has positioned itself as the hub of IT outsourcing. Companies like Datatec with a strong presence are likely to reap rewards.”
Datatec's new shares will be listed on 21 January after a shareholder meeting approved the issue of the stock late last year.
The company's shares opened at R27.75 this morning, before moving up 5c in early morning trade.
Related story:
Datatec buys NetStar for $20m
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