Pinnacle buys Datanet stake

By Nicola Mawson, Contributing journalist

Johannesburg, 31 Oct 2006

Pinnacle Technology Holdings has acquired a majority shareholding in Datanet Infrastructure Group for an undisclosed amount.

The company told shareholders yesterday that it had entered into an agreement to buy out 50.1% of Datanet, which it considers to be a strategic investment. In an announcement, Pinnacle said the stake - which is subject to Competition Commission approval - would enable it to broaden its product offerings.

For the year ended June, Pinnacle reported revenue of R1.06 billion and attributable profit of R44 million. At the time, it cited acquisitions as a growth opportunity. CEO Arnold Fourie said one of its focus areas was CCTV security.

Datanet's products are primarily supplied for structured cabling solutions, 19-inch racking systems, purpose build electronic enclosures and complementary infrastructure products such as media converters, optical fibre CCTV and co-axial for telecommunication, data and telephony applications.

The products are designed to meet international standards and Pinnacle views Datanet as a one-stop-shop. It has a turnover of over R100 million.

Pinnacle said while the acquisition falls below the JSE's threshold for disclosure, it deems it to be strategic and has disclosed it to shareholders.

The computing group's shares moved up on the announcement, closing yesterday at R2.64, up from Friday's close of R2.57. Its 12-month high is R2.89 and its 12-month low is R1.35.