Intec Telecom Systems, a provider of telecoms operations support systems, is to buy Danish company Digiquant for lb6.7 million (about R84 million) as part of a strategy to expand its offerings to telecoms companies.
The purchase price will be satisfied through the issue of approximately 15.96 million new Intec shares plus the repayment of lb0.7 million, or R11 million, of outstanding loans.
London-listed Intec Telecom Systems was founded by expatriate South Africans and has a research and development operation in Cape Town. The company`s main focus is on providing billing services for telecommunications operators and its new subsidiary is a supplier of software for next-generation data services in wireless and fixed-line service providers.
According to an Intec Telecom Systems statement, Digiquant brings to the company strong synergies with its client base and product offering. Its IMS product line is used by more than 50 service providers worldwide, including companies such as Telefonica, Tiscali, Telecom Italia, Belgacom, Telekom Malaysia, iBasis and Omnitel Vodafone.
IMS allows carriers, service providers, businesses and other users of data networks to manage and bill for advanced, next-generation services. Intec believes the capabilities of the Digiquant product set are complementary to its own OSS products which address key operational requirements for large telecoms operators in both traditional and next-generation markets.
Digiquant has 128 staff based in Roskilde (Denmark), Atlanta, Rome, Singapore and the UK, plus a number of international sales offices.
Intec does not expect the acquisition to have a material impact on its current business year, which ends on 30 September.
In 2002, Digiquant generated 60% of its revenues in EMEA, 21% in the Americas and 19% in Asia-Pacific. Digiquant has over 50 customers representing 72 installed systems in 32 countries.
"Digiquant is a well-managed business, with an outstanding product, that has been constrained in its ability to move forwards in the current market due to a lack of critical mass," says Intec executive chairman Mike Fayne.
"Combining Digiquant`s technology and Intec`s global distribution capabilities opens many doors for both companies, as well as allowing Digiquant customers to be fully confident in the future of the product set," says Digiquant founder and chief technology officer Hasse Rasmussen.
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