6pm Holdings plc has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of Compunet Operations Ltd and Compunet Agencies Ltd. This acquisition will be treated as a ‘‘Class 2’’ transaction for the purposes of the Listing Rules and as such requires prior approval by the company’s shareholders.
The acquisition is also conditional on the approval by shareholders of an increase in share capital and the successful completion of a rights issue, intended to fully finance the acquisition.
Following the announcement of the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Softweb Ltd at the end of last year, this will be the company’s second acquisition, in line with its new expansion plans aimed at growth through acquisitions and mergers.
Compunet and 6pm have been working together for over five years, serving clients in both Malta and the UK. The infrastructure outfit provided a perfect complement to 6pm’s service and product offering and allowed the company to offer its clients an end-to-end solution. The acquisition is therefore a natural fit that will formalise the relationship and allow both companies to leverage each other’s strengths.
Following the restructuring that took place towards the end of last year, 6pm has been quick to put the new business plan into action. Having a hardware and infrastructure arm is a key pillar to the foundation of the business vision.
As well as being a leading provider of IT hardware and infrastructure solutions, Compunet has a significant portfolio of agencies that it represents in Malta and an impressive customer base. It is also a leading provider for top end solutions ranging from fibre-optic networks to VM Ware virtualisation solutions. This will undoubtedly bring added value to the table and enable the 6pm Group to provide its clients with a total solution.
Compunet has been in operation since 1996. In addition to its commercial infrastructure services, the company operates a leading IT hardware and electronics retail outlet in Mosta. It is also an authorised service centre for EPSON, Lenovo and Viewsonic, among many others.
With a technical staff of five, the company has been a key infrastructure provider to a host of local organisations, including clients in iGaming and the pharmaceutical industry, with projects involving infrastructure design and management, support and maintenance, access control, security audits and network monitoring solutions.
“This is a brilliant opportunity for us to align ourselves with one of the IT leaders on the island. We are extremely excited by the prospects this will bring. The two companies already have a proven working relationship,” said Compunet director Brian Zarb Adami. “Going forward, Compunet will continue to invest its efforts to become a major corporate player in IT infrastructure and increase our accreditation as to compliment the current CISCO, VM Ware and Microsoft accreditations. People will continue to be trained and developed to ensure the company continues to build its future on human capital. Being part of the 6pm Group will undoubtedly open new doors for us.”
6pm Holdings CEO Ivan Bartolo said: “The Compunet work ethic and ‘can do attitude’ mirrors that of 6pm very closely and as such is a brilliant fit from a culture perspective as well as being a natural business complement. With Compunet on board, the 6pm Group will have the opportunity to enter into new markets and build on its systems integration expertise. Subject to this acquisition materialising, Brian Zarb Adami, who has been at the helm of Compunet, will be appointed Chief Technical Officer of the 6pm Group. Brian’s technical expertise will undoubtedly make him a key player and contributor to the 6pm Group and our vision for the future of the company.”