Datatec subsidiary Logicalis buys Coasin Chile

LISTED information and communications technology solutions and services group, Datatec, yesterday announced that its subsidiary, Logicalis, has signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of Coasin Chile (Coasin), for $20.2 million (R247.88m)

The group said $19.1m of the purchase fee would be paid on the completion of the transaction while the remaining $1.1m would be paid if Coasin achieved a set profit target next month.

Datatec said the acquisition would be settled in cash from Logicalis’ resources.

Coasin is a Chilean information and communications technology (ICT) company and solutions provider which also has operations in Peru.

Datatec said the purchase was expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.

It said that it, however, remained subject to certain third-party consents as well as approval by the Chilean Competition Authorities.

Game changer Datatec chief executive Jens Montanana described Coasin as one of the most established IT businesses in the region.

Montanana said the purchase would be a gamechanger for their operations in Chile and Peru, allowing them to further consolidate their very strong position regionally.

“We are pleased to welcome the Coasin team to the group,” Montanana said.

Coasin has a long track record in the industry, having been established in 1966.

It is a provider of ICT support and managed services, networking, and POS solutions with a strong position in the mining and financial services verticals.

In the year to end December Coasin reported an annual turnover of $84.4m, while profit after tax was $2.8m, with net assets of $12m.

Datatec said the acquisition was expected to enhance its earnings.

Datatec said Coasin would bring significant capabilities and scale to Logicalis’ existing operations in Chile and Peru in the future.

“Coasin’s experience in the mining and financial services verticals creates opportunities for Logicalis to better serve its multinational clients, while broadening its services scope to new customer groups,” the group said.

Last year, Logicalis also made two acquisitions. In July it bought a 51 percent stake in NubeliU, a South American-based company that is specialising in cloud computing projects based on OpenStack, for an undisclosed amount.

It followed that with a 54 percent stake acquisition in Indonesian company Packet Systems Indonesia for $6.8m.

Logicalis is one of two Datatec’s main divisions. Logicalis accounts for 25 percent of revenue, while another division, Westcon-Comstor, accounts for 74 percent of the group’s revenue.

The minor division Corporate, Consulting and Financial Services accounts for 1 percent of the overall revenue.

Datatec shares rose 7.44 percent in early trade on the JSE yesterday to a high of R20.50 a share before settling at R20.05.