US-based extended enterprise solutions and services provider SSA Global announced yesterday that it had appointed JSE-listed Labat as its official representative in sub-Saharan Africa.
The appointment gives the BEE owned and operated company the rights to distribute the full range of SSA Global`s enterprise software offerings, including BPCS, Masterpiece and Infinium products. As a master reseller and accredited implementation partner, Labat will assume responsibility for all existing support contracts. A new division at the company, Labat Software Solutions (LSS), will be focused solely on the sale and support of SSA offerings.
SSA Global Northern Europe VP, Peter Prince, who is responsible for the sub-Saharan region, said SSA Global has about 175 mid-market and multi-national clients in the region.
"I`m upbeat about our relationship with SSA," said Labat CEO Brian van Rooyen. Labat has worked with SSA Global`s products for the past five years, developing home-grown add-on applications for BPCS and working with dedicated third-party support companies.
"We expect to secure a number of new customer sites, and to up-sell and cross-sell into existing sites," said LLS MD Mark Alexander.
Labat is currently trading under a cautionary, with van Rooyen confirming that another listed company is involved. Should an agreement be reached, he says this deal will see Labat almost doubling its staff compliment from its current team of around 640 people and further extending its African footprint.
Price said SSA Global`s current strategy was two-fold. Having come back from the brink of bankruptcy three years ago with the help of two investment firms, Cerebus Capital Management and General Atlantic Partners, it has embarked on an aggressive acquisition drive while also committing to organic growth of around 10 percent during its current fiscal.
Among its acquisitions is enterprise resource planning solutions provider Baan, which Price said would be profitable by the end of this year. It is currently finalising the purchase of US-based supply chain management software developer EXE Technologies in a deal worth about US$47 million, and plans to launch a high yield bond later this year that was expected to raise between US$350 and $500 million. The bulk of this, said Price, would be used to further its acquisition strategy.
SSA Global, said Price, had committed to supporting all existing products. It anticipated revenues of US$ 645 million during its current fiscal and had earmarked 15% of revenues for research and development in this period.
Labat, said van Rooyen, was looking at growing organically by between 10% and 15% in the next year. "The success of Labat over the years has always been about being able to maintain our BEE balance. We`ll continue to do so."
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