JSE-listed outsourcing company EOH has bought Airborne for an undisclosed amount, as it continues with its strategy of growing organically and through acquisitions.
Airborne, which is based in Cape Town, offers management consulting and IT services. It was founded in 2004 and has about 110 staff members.
Airborne CEO Sean O'Connell says the company decided to join EOH as it aims to become a “powerhouse” in the Western Cape, which was not possible through pure organic growth.
Airborne restructured for growth two-and-a-half years ago, just before the global meltdown, says O'Connell. He says the company reaped the benefits and recorded its best ever year by revenue and profit in 2011.
However, notes O'Connell, to grow even further, Airborne had to either acquire a company, or find the right “big brother” to buy it out. He says Airborne was “too small to be big, and too big to be small”.
EOH CEO Asher Bohbot says the acquisition gives EOH a “nice presence in the Western Cape”. He adds that Airborne's managed services, software development and infrastructure offerings fit into its business.
The listed company has set itself the target of achieving R4 billion in revenue in the 2014 financial year, through a combination of acquisitive and organic growth. It reported full-year revenue of R2.4 billion last September.
Bohbot says the company will continue to acquire companies, as its “modus operandi” is working. “Expect more of the same from the same people.”
EOH and Airborne were in discussions for about two years before finalising the deal last December, says O'Connell.
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