26 August 2008
Vodacom acquires a shareholding in StorTech
Vodacom is pleased to announce the acquisition of a shareholding in Storage Technologies Services (StorTech), a managed enterprise data centre services company providing a range of storage and security services. Vodacom (Pty) Ltd has purchased 51% of StorTech; approximately 31% will remain with StorTech's BEE partners and approximately 18% with StorTech's management.
Pieter Uys, Chief Executive Officer designate of Vodacom Group said:
"The launch of Vodacom Business in February this year signalled our intention to diversify Vodacom's activities into the convergence space, and to invest in new avenues for growth. The acquisition of a shareholding in StorTech is a continuation of this process.
StorTech is already a supplier to Vodacom, and as a subsidiary, Stortech will give Vodacom access to additional technical and engineering skills and will release synergies."
There is a strategic fit between StorTech and Vodacom, the combination of which will provide benefits to both companies and their customers. StorTech's portfolio complements Vodacom Business' enterprise solutions-focused division and expands upon Vodacom's data centre services capabilities.
Tim Knowles, Chief Executive Officer of StorTech said:
"StorTech is delighted with the merger and I am personally excited that my management and I will be staying onboard as part of a growing force in the ICT business services market. We look forward to a productive and creative relationship and ensuring a seamless experience for our customers and business partners."
The transaction remains subject to certain closing conditions, including approval from the relevant competition authorities in South Africa.
Enquiries:
Vodacom
Nicolene Visser, EHOD: Corporate Communications, Vodacom Group
+27 11 653 5741
+27 82 9944 282
College Hill
Richard Boorman
+27 11 447 3030
Notes to Editors:
About Vodacom Group and Vodacom Business
Vodacom is a pan-African cellular communications company providing a world-class GSM service to more than 34.6 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho and Mozambique.
Vodacom Business, launched in February 2008, provides end-to-end converged communication solutions and services to the corporate and SME markets. Vodacom Business' solutions are built of four pillars, including: Access Services, Managed Hosted Services, Managed Network Services and Converged Application Services.
About StorTech
StorTech is a data management solutions integrator and helps companies understand, process, store, secure and manage their information in order to drive business efficiency, mitigate risk and reduce operational costs. StorTech offers its clients an innovative range of data centre services, underpinned by a unique understanding of the needs of the virtualised enterprise.
StorTech has offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban. StorTech is strongly committed to Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) transformation in South Africa and it has a certified Empowerdex rating of AA.