Colt has announced that it will be acquiring Tokyo-based data centre firm KVH for just over £100m.
Colt said that the transaction will provide it with scale and complementary capability in key Asian cities, and allow the companyt to storm into the Asia Pacific ICT services market which is currently booming with growth of around 12% a year.
Rakesh Bhasin, Colt CEO said: "I am pleased to announce our plan to acquire KVH. It is a growing business, largely focused on network and data centres in Asia. They have strong capabilities, a significant customer base and great assets, all complementary to our own. This partnership will enable Colt to offer our customers seamless solutions on a global basis and give us a solid platform for growth in Asia."
Colt has a city-based strategy which looks to target customers operating in information intensive industries. KVH, whilst present in Tokyo, also operates from Singapore, Hong Kong and Seoul.
Colt has said that the total cash consideration for KVH is ¥18.595 billion, with the acquisition expected to deliver annual cost and capex synergies of £6.7m.
Ted Higase, KVH CEO, said: "We are delighted to formally become part of the Colt family. The combination of our two companies will add scale, improve the competitiveness of both KVH and Colt, and be beneficial to all our customers. KVH will provide an established and successful platform – deploying its assets, relationships and people – for growth in Asia as part of a larger Colt organisation."
