Confirming speculation that has been going on for several months, Telecom has announced it will buy Gen-i from Cullen Investments for $62.5 million.
In a statement, Telecom CIO Mark Ratcliffe says the deal, which is conditional, should be settled by the end of this month and that it is "a very positive development for Telecom and Telecom Advanced Solutions."
Rumour has been rife in the industry for some time that Telecom, TelstraClear and HP were bidding for Gen-i and TelstraClear pulled out last month.
Gen-i has 700 staff in New Zealand and Australia. Combined, TAS and Gen-i have a staff of over 1100 and revenue over $200 million.
The acquisition should not only help Telecom’s local IT service arm, Telecom Advanced Solutions, enter the desktop arena, but should enable its Australian subsidiary AAPT do the same, Ratcliffe says.