Altron’s Bytes to acquire Unisys Africa

Bytes Technology Group, wholly owned by the JSE-listed Altron Group, has entered into agreements to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Unisys Africa from Unisys Corporation and Cyber Knowledge Systems Investments, a local empowerment company.

The transaction is subject to competition authority approval in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, while detailed terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

In conjunction with the transaction, Unisys and Bytes will conclude a five-year distributor agreement which allows for exclusive marketing, sale and support of certain Unisys products and solutions in selected sub-Saharan African countries with `preferred partner’ status in certain others.

“Unisys Africa’s existing operations represent a good fit within Bytes and in many instances, the offerings provided by Unisys Africa will be complementary to the current offerings of Bytes. The acquisition will provide the possibility for synergies and economies of scale for Unisys Africa’s operations within the greater Bytes group,” said Rob Abraham, CEO of Bytes Technology Group.

Unisys Africa provides IT services and technology offerings to customers in sub-Saharan Africa with a core South African client base in both the public and private sectors. It operates in the telecommunications, energy, financial and other commercial industries and within government agencies.

The company has conducted business in countries outside of South Africa including Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria.

Unisys Africa operates from Johannesburg and from Cape Town, with 24 additional points of presence. The management team is highly skilled, averaging more than 20 years’ experience in the South African IT industry, a factor well recognised by Bytes.

The business delivers a broad scope of products and services including communication messaging solutions and the design and development of solutions for government agencies, such as national identity solutions and asset management systems.

It also designs, supports and maintains IT infrastructure, including desktops, servers, storage, mobile systems and cheque processing equipment and assists clients to modernise their data centre environments through virtualisation and automation.

Unisys Africa would initially continue to operate as a stand-alone entity. In time, relevant operations will be incorporated into existing, complementary Bytes operations namely Bytes Systems Integration, Bytes Managed Solutions and Bytes Connect.

“We are confident that the acquisition will enhance our current capabilities and grow our business,” said Abraham. “We will continue to look for other suitable acquisitions to fuel our profitable revenue streams,” he added.