Servo has been acquired by IT support services provider Phoenix IT Group plc for a total consideration of £30.25 million1. The acquisition will enable Servo to deliver enhanced business continuity and disaster recovery services to SME customers, by partnering with Phoenix’s NDR business unit.
Servo will continue to operate as a stand-alone business under the leadership of existing Managing Director, David Jones, while benefiting from the added financial stability and strong organisational backing of Phoenix IT Group.
As well as working closely with NDR, Servo will be able to draw on Phoenix IT’s cross-platform UNIX support skills and its Cisco Gold Partner status.
Commenting on the acquisition, David Jones, Servo’s Managing Director, said: “This acquisition is great news for Servo and for our customers, because we can now offer a much wider service portfolio than before. With Phoenix IT‘s backing, we have a tremendous opportunity to increase our footprint in our existing client base, as well as to grow our market share overall.”
Jones continued: “Phoenix IT is keen for us to operate as a stand-alone business, so it is very much ‘business as usual’ here at Servo, with the same management team and the same go-to-market strategy as we’ve always had – but with the added benefit of being part of a successful UK plc.”
Nick Robinson, Chief Executive of Phoenix, added: “Servo is an excellent strategic fit with Phoenix, with opportunities to leverage our existing skills and logistics resources and to develop cross-selling opportunities, principally with the Group’s disaster recovery and business continuity business, NDR, which also has a broad customer base.”
1 The consideration is being satisfied by the payment of £28.0m in cash and the issue of 708,103 ordinary shares in the share capital of Phoenix IT Group plc. For the year ended 31 March 2006, Servo achieved revenues of £42.2m and profit before tax of £2.8m.