In an announcement the company says the rationale behind the deals is based upon the fragmented nature of UK SME and mid-market telecommunications market with its current depressed valuations presenting significant opportunities for the new, enlarged group.
The strategy of the enlarged group is to create, through a combination of further acquisitions and organic growth, one of the largest UK providers to the SME and mid-market of telecommunications services and solutions.
Daisy and Vialtus will provide the right platform for potential further growth through a combination of consolidation and integration expertise, critical mass, customer scale, broad product offering and strong operational capability
The senior management team have significant experience of creating shareholder value in the telecoms sector through both organic and acquisitive growth
Following completion, the Group’s market capitalisation will be approximately £204.4 million
Matthew Riley, CEO of Daisy, will be appointed Chief Executive Officer and Freedom4 Group plc will be renamed Daisy Group plc. The Enlarged Group intends to provide its SME and mid-market customers with a converged product set including access, hosting, voice, mobile and managed services.
Peter Dubens, Non-Executive Chairman of Freedom4 Group plc, commented: “We are seeing an opportunity in the UK telecoms services market at the moment where the fragmented nature and depressed valuations in the sector create conditions which are well-suited for generating value through consolidation. Our experience in making carefully chosen acquisitions and integrating them properly gives us confidence in our ability to generate further value for our shareholders. One of the major strengths of Daisy is the unified brand and operating system which will be key to the Group’s future success.”
Matthew Riley, CEO of Daisy, added, “Over the last 8 years, Daisy has grown to be a substantial provider of cost effective communications services, with over 30,000 SME customers. With 24 acquisitions during this time, the management at Daisy has honed its consolidation and integration skills, maintaining customer service levels and creating a truly scalable operational platform.
“Daisy and Vialtus are two highly synergistic businesses; we believe that together they will be able to provide SME and mid-market customers with an effective and attractive one-stop-shop offer, and provide us with the solid foundations for our plans for future growth.”