| Tue 27 Mar 2001, 0:00 | | Datatec's Mason Acquires Catalyst |
|
PRESS RELEASE
27 March 2001
DATATEC'S UK BASED TELECOM CONSULTANCY ACQUIRES VOICE/WEB CALL CENTRE
CONSULTANCY, CATALYST IT PARTNERS
75% Datatec owned Mason Group, a leading independent European
telecommunications consultancy, announced today that it has acquired Catalyst
IT Partners for a total maximum consideration of UKGBP9-million.
The initial consideration of UKGBP2-million is to be paid in cash with the
balance payable on a two and a half year earn-out period in cash and, if
listed, Mason shares.
listed, Mason shares.
Catalyst's 27 consultants provide consulting services in the field of
voice-based call centres and web-enabled contact centres. The services range
from strategic and business planning; technology selection; design;
implementation; and optimisation. Catalyst's clients include the BBC, Abbey
National, Old Mutual, Avis, DVLA and Britannic Assurance.
Says David Mason, Chief Executive of Mason: "This deal with Catalyst is an
important step for us. Major organisations are facing the need to upgrade
their voice-based call centres to handle Internet transactions and Catalyst has
the right skills to guide these organisations through this difficult process."
"Catalyst also has excellent software tools to plan new call/contact centres
and optimise the performance of existing call/contact centres. By combining
Catalyst's skills with Mason's in voice and data networks and voice-over
Internet protocol (VoIP), we are able to provide our clients with a complete
consulting service for their voice and data communications."
Catalyst will be a focused call/contact centre company within the Mason Group
and will be integrated into Mason's CRM, knowledge management and finance
systems.
Says Colin Hatfield executive director of Catalyst: "Catalyst is excited about
joining the Mason Group. The deal sets the scene for the rapid achievement of
joining the Mason Group. The deal sets the scene for the rapid achievement of
one of Catalyst's key strategic objectives - to be recognised internationally
as one of the leading consultancies in multi-media contact centres and eCRM."
"Mason and Catalyst teams have already worked together on assignments,
demonstrating a similar approach and desire to exceed clients' expectations.
Our cultures and complementary skills blend well and we are confident that this
deal will deliver our collective business goals."
"With Mason, we can now provide an end-to-end implementation capability which
offers a complete solution to every organisation's customer management and
communications requirements."
-ends-
For more information please see our web site at www.datatec.co.za or
www.datatec-group.com, or contact:
Jonathan Newman
Datatec
(T)+27 11 233 1002
mailto:jonathann@datatec.co.za
Gillian Bouchier
Diagonal Street Communications
(T) +27 11 444 8313
mailto:gillian@diagonalstreet.com
About Datatec
Datatec Ltd, South Africa's most global company, is a rapidly expanding global
networking and e-services group listed on the JSE. At group level Datatec is an
active technology holding company with a core competence in the timely
identification, acquisition and integration of high-tech businesses and
technologies in the global networking, Internet and e-business spaces.
technologies in the global networking, Internet and e-business spaces.
Datatec's divisions, subsidiaries and associate companies encompass the
worldwide provision of advanced networking products to the channel as well as a
range of Internet and e-business services and solutions. The company employs
more than 4000 people around the world, has operations on six continents and
has just achieved revenues of over R9.5bn for the first half of their 2001
financial year. International operations now contribute in excess of 97% to
both the group's revenues and profits.
About Mason Group
Mason is a subsidiary of Datatec Ltd, the multi-billion dollar global IT
services group. Mason was formed in 1993 and has since achieved an average
compound growth rate of over 50% pa. The company currently has 280 staff with
offices in Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin. Mason provides consulting
services and business solutions to telecommunications operators and the
end-users of telecommunications services such as banking, insurance,
government, utilities, transport, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and services
organisations. Mason's expertise spans the entire range of communications,
including fixed, mobile and internet technologies. Its services are designed
to take clients from the strategic planning stage to a fully implemented
solution, providing a comprehensive 'Concepts to Reality' service.
