IT firms strike £79.4m deal

The parent company of Lincoln-headquartered ICT firm GCI has snapped up managed IT and Cloud-solutions provider Nasstar for £79.4 million.

Divitias Bidco has acquired the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of the Telford-based company.

The firm made the swoop after being attracted by Nasstar’s “impressive” portfolio of services, and says the business will benefit “substantially” from being part of a wider Group of companies.

GCI CEO Wayne Churchill said: “We are very pleased that the Board of Nasstar is recommending our cash offer. The transaction is highly complementary for both businesses and we are encouraged to see that a large percentage of Nasstar shareholders have given undertakings to accept the offer.

“We have a deep understanding of and great respect for the customer-centric business that the team at Nasstar has built. By working together we can combine our expertise to enhance our offering for customers through a larger pool of technical experts with different and complementary capabilities, and provide a wider portfolio of products and services.

“The combination of the two companies will create a business with exciting, long-term prospects and we look forward to working closely with Nasstar to deliver for all of our stakeholders.”

Nick Bate, chairman at Nasstar, added: “We believe the acquisition is in the best interests of all our stakeholders, and unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions relating to the acquisition.”