Japan’s NTT to snap up Dimension Data for $3.2 billion

July 15, 2010 06:25 pm | Updated July 28, 2010 10:50 pm IST - Tokyo/New Delhi

Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) will buy South African technology services provider Dimension Data Holdings Plc in an all-cash deal worth 2.12 billion pounds (about $3.2 billion).

The acquisition will help the Japanese firm boost its overseas presence, especially in the fast-growing African telecom market.

The NTT in a statement Thursday said it will acquire Dimension Data for about 2.12 billion pounds and the deal is expected to close by October this year.

“The offer price for each ordinary share in Dimension Data is expected to be 120 pence and the total acquisition price is expected to be approximately up to GBP 2,120 million,” the statement noted.

Globally, many telecom companies are looking to get a foothold in the lucrative African market. Recently, Indian giant Bharti Airtel acquired Kuwait-based Zain Telecom’s operations in 15 African countries in a $10.7 billion deal.

NTT is the parent company of Japanese telecom entity NTT DOCOMO, which has a joint venture, ‘Tata DOCOMO’, with Indian player Tata Teleservices.

Founded in 1983 in South Africa, Dimension Data operates in 49 countries on six continents. The company is headquartered in the U.K. and its shares are listed on both the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges.

Dimension Data has a presence in India through its wholly-owned subsidiary Datacraft.

Commenting on the proposed deal, NTT President and CEO Satoshi Miura said both companies share a common vision to create new services and values to succeed in the coming age of cloud computing.

According to NTT, the transaction would be funded through a combination of its existing cash resources and loan facilities arranged by the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

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