ITG to buy London firm in £3.53m deal

ITG, the telecommunications and computer group, has agreed to acquire Computercall, a London-based credit-card services company, for up to £3.53 million (€4.48 million). This is the second acquisition this month and follows the purchase of Computers in Ireland for £8.75 million (€11.11 million).

Computercall is a privately-owned company situated in Southall. It is engaged in the installation and service of electronic-fund-transfer-point-of-sale (EFTPOS) equipment and has a call handling division, providing services to the computer industry. The deal will strengthen the company's credit-card services division.

The initial cash consideration consists of £1.12 million (€1.42 million) in cash, and £1.72 million (€2.18 million), through the issue of 441,000 new ITG shares. That values the shares at €4.97, representing a big discount on the last market price of €5.80 prior to the announcement. ITG chief executive Mr John Nagle said it reflected the average price at the time (December) of the negotiations. The largest shareholder of Computercall, a non-executive director, has opted to take most of his consideration in shares. Those receiving ITG shares have to keep them for at least six months.

The remainder of the consideration is conditional on winning a new contract and retaining another. A further consideration of £263,860 (€335,033) will be paid if Computercall obtains a contract with an estimated turnover of £860,412 (€1.09 million) with one large customer. The contract has to be obtained within 12 months of completion of the acquisition. The final payment of up to £424,470 (€538,966) will be paid if a contract is renewed.

Mr Nagle said the acquisition would strengthen the group's presence in the British market, where it already owned Telecentral plc, a payphone firm, and Integrated Cash Register Products, a credit services company. ITG's intended, he said, to continue to grow its four core areas; telecoms, computers, payphones and credit card services, through "organic growth and prudent acquisitions".

Asked about further acquisitions, Mr Nagle said that while the group was always on the lookout, the latest purchase represented its sixth in this fiscal year. The emphasis, he added, would be on bedding down the acquisitions and on organic growth over the next six months.