Acquisition-Hungry Daisy Snaps Up Alternative Networks
Daisy acquires telecoms rival Alternative Networks for £165m
Acquisition-hungry Daisy has made yet another purchase in the form of Alternative Networks.
It is reported that Lancashire-based Daisy will pay £165m for Alternative Networks and take on almost £20m in debt.
The acquisition – Daisy’s 50th under the leadership of Matthew Riley –will increase the company’s size by about a quarter in terms of revenue
Financial problems
The deal will add further scale to the Daisy business, building on its managed services offerings, which had been bolstered by the acquisition last year of Phoenix and Damovo. It also expands Daisy’s mobile and fixed line product and service offerings.
The FT reports Alternative Networks was hit hard by a collapse in revenues from roaming as the European Commission slashed rates. The company has warned on profits three times within a year, and its stock has halved in value since 2014. Its shares are down a third since the start of the year.
According to IT research firm, TechMarketView, the challenge for the newly integrated company will be to successfully co-ordinate the migration of customers off legacy analogue, circuit switched links and onto lower cost IP connectivity services such as the unified communications and collaboration platform Daisy hosts in partnership with BT.
It believes that opportunities for the newly combined company will lie in the cross sale of services and identifying efficiencies around convergence.