JSE-listed technology solutions provider EOH has not discounted the possibility of buying a piece of arivia.kom.
CEO Asher Bohbot, speaking at the company's results presentation yesterday evening, said the company aims to be a consolidator, rather than becoming consolidated. "The luxury of remaining a small, niche player is just not available to anyone."
However, as the company is keeping an eye out for potential acquisitions, it may have to secure debt funding to provide cash for growth. Bohbot said all the firm's acquisitions since inception nine years ago were funded internally. However, the company may consider debt and going to market for more funds, he added.
Bohbot said the company had not ruled out the possibility of buying a part of arivia.kom. He noted that organisations are forming consortiums to bid for the state-owned IT services firm and, if an attractive piece came EOH's way, it would be looked at.
Consolidation
He sees a growing move towards companies choosing to have one vendor providing services; a demand EOH aims to meet as it expands to become a one-stop shop. In addition, the company plans to have full integration across its business units, allowing it to capitalise on add-on sales. This is the next phase in the company's evolution, he explained.
Bohbot said margins would be kept to between 10.5% and 11%, to avoid either becoming a takeover target, or dropping service levels.
Executive director Lucky Khumalo said the industry is going through a period of consolidation, and EOH needs to "be ahead of the pack".
The company aims to secure the best skills and people to stay focused while it is on its growth path. In addition, it has launched a skills academy to develop industry-specific skills.
EOH, which has over 1 200 staff, has seen a compound annual growth rate of 41.3% over the last nine years.
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