Member Article

Cheltenham IT firm bought by rival

London-based Redstone is to buy its Cheltenham-based rival Maxima Holding, in a deal estimated to be worth £13.8m.

Redstone will undertake a share placing to raise £3m towards the acquisition, and to provide the enlarged group with general working capital.

In a statement from Maxima, the deal is said to value Maxima at approximately £9.9m.

The acquisition will fuel Redstone’s strategy to be a leading provider of network based end-to-end managed services and technology and infrastructure solutions.

Maxima’s Indian operations are expected to deliver significant service and cost benefits to the new group.

Richard Ramsay, Non-Executive Chairman of Redstone, said: “I am pleased to announce the proposed Acquisition which the Board of Redstone believes will confer benefits to shareholders of both Redstone and Maxima.

“The Enlarged Group will benefit from enhanced scale, an enlarged client base with increased cross selling opportunities, a broader technical offering and a reduced cost base. We are excited by the opportunities for the Enlarged Group to capitalise on its position as a leading independent UK managed services provider and to deliver healthy profit margins.

“I would like both to thank Redstone’s institutional shareholders for their support in our Placing and the Acquisition and to welcome Maxima’s shareholders on to the register. The Placing Price conveys the continued strong support we have enjoyed from a high quality investor base.”

Michael Brooke, Senior Non Executive Director of Maxima, added: “The proposed Acquisition enables Maxima Shareholders to benefit from the cost savings that will become available from a combination of the two groups, whilst also benefiting from being part of a larger business, better placed to exploit growth in the managed IT services and cloud computing market.

“Having fully explored potential disposal options for Maxima’s core Managed Services, Infrastructure and Applications division, the Independent Maxima Directors believe that the proposed terms of the Acquisition would result in a better financial return for Maxima Shareholders and which fairly reflects the potential benefits of combining the two businesses.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .