Daisy hits deal trail with £20m swoops
NEWLY-floated North West telecoms group Daisy hit the acquisition trail today with a £20m+ double swoop.
Nelson-based Daisy, which listed last month via a £200m reverse takeover deal, is buying AT Communications out of administration for £7m in cash plus share warrants and Halifax-based Eurotel for £13.5m in cash plus shares.
AT, which will add more than £20m to Daisy’s revenues, is a communications technology company focused on the delivery of IP-based solutions and services to small, medium, and large enterprises. Until recently it was a profitable concern, but made a loss of £3.5m in the first half of this year.
Telecoms and IT supplier Eurotel reported revenue and EBITDA of approximately £30.2m and £3.5m respectively in the year to March 31.
Commenting on the acquisitions Peter Dubens, chairman, said: ‘The acquisitions of AT Communications and Eurotel support our strategy for providing a converged product set to this target market. This is a positive step in our growth plans.”
Chief executive Matthew Riley added: ‘These transactions are the first steps for Daisy in executing its strategy to consolidate the fragmented reseller market and become a dominant force in the SME and mid-market arena.
‘Both companies have good reputations within the industry and, as part of the group, will support Daisy in delivering an excellent service in all areas of communications, from product quality to customer service, further strengthening our converged product set and enhancing our offering to the UK business community.”
Daisy also announced the appointment of Ian Butcher as non-executive director. Mr Butcher is a former finance director of transport company Go-Ahead Group.
