Daisy eyes SpiriTel deal

Unified business communications specialist Daisy Group plc (AIM: DAY) has revealed its latest acquisition, signalling a move further into the midmarket.

The firm says it has reached an agreement with SpiriTel plc’s directors on a recommended cash offer worth £27.3m. This will be the 11th acquisition Daisy Group has made over the last 18 months.

The deal, with SpiriTel’s customer base of 4000 SMEs, larger national and international organisations, will move Daisy Group more firmly into the midmarket. Says Matthew Riley, CEO of Daisy Group: “This is the largest acquisition the company has made since coming to market last year. The Board believes that this acquisition gives Daisy Group a strong foothold in the midmarket, strengthening our sales team and engineering force, while significantly enhancing both our product portfolio and customer base.”

Like Daisy Group, SpiriTel has grown both organically and acquisitively – since 2006, SpiriTel has acquired 12 companies – and positioned itself as a consolidator of the UK telecoms seller market.
It was also one of the first companies in the UK to gain accreditation to deliver Mitel's new virtualised telephony platform to corporate customers. It is also a large independent reseller of mobile voice and data solutions to business customers, with a total of almost 40,000 connections. This, alongside its nationwide engineering footprint, will enhance and complement Daisy’s four core product areas, and augment Daisy Group’s Mitel capabilities, says the firm.
 
Adds Riley: “With our data hosting capabilities from the former Vialtus business, this deal gives us a great cross-sale opportunity to sell hosted solutions and fill our three datacentres in London, Manchester and Fareham. In addition the business’ position as a Mitel Premier Partner, coupled with a nationwide engineering force will see enhancements to the Group’s systems and maintenance division.”