Daisy swoops in £13.5m deal for Eurotel
YORKSHIRE telecomunications business Eurotel has been today bought for £13.5m in cash plus shares by newly floated North West telecoms group Daisy.
Eurotel was bought in a £44m management buyout MBO) backed by Inflexion Private Equity in 2007 but went into administration yesterday.
The Halifax firm sells fixed line, mobile and data services to small and medium sized businesses.
Nelson-based Daisy, which listed last month via a £200m reverse takeover deal, also announced it was buying AT Communications out of administration for £7m in cash plus share warrants.
AT, which will add more thasn £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.
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.”
The MBO of Eurotel in 2007 followed a period of acquisitive growth for the company, which saw it buy long-established systems resellers Multilink and Advance Group.
The management team of Eurotel, led by chief executive Chris Jagusz, remained in place after the MBO.
Eurotel was founded by brothers Keith and Robert Lutener in 1995. They sold it to Young Associates, headed by former Tory cabinet minister Lord Young of Graffham, in 2005 for £19m.
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.
