TELECOMS & MOBILE
Magnet acquires Glantel
21-04-2008
by Emmet Ryan
Broadband provider Magnet has snapped up voice and data services start-up Glantel in a deal worth over EUR1 million.
No official amount for the deal was available; however a close source to Magnet told ENN the value exceeded the EUR1 million mark.
The purchase of Glantel is part of Magnet's strategy to offer extra services to its customers. "We've been developing a converged voice and data package for SMEs for some time now," Donal Hanrahan, corporate development director of Magnet Business, told ENN. "Glantel has been totally focused on this area for two years now and they were further down the track than we were."
The acquisition of Glantel will also see the creation of 10 new jobs, in addition to the two staff from Glantel that will join Magnet as part of the deal. Hanrahan said the new positions were part of the broadband provider's plans to beef up its ability to deliver the new package. The jobs created will be in Magnet's engineering and sales operations.
Magnet's aim with the new acquisition is to deliver more offerings over its existing broadband infrastructure. Hanrahan said the purchase was different to traditional means of inorganic growth. "If we went out and bought a competitor we'd be buying user-base," he said. "With Glantel it's slightly different. This is a more strategic purchase as it has more to do with the product they have developed rather than the customers they have."
The Magnet executive said this kind of purchase would enable the firm to offer more to customers. "The trick is to build products on top of the broadband services we offer," said Hanrahan.
This is the third time in recent years that Magnet has snapped up an SME in the early stages of development, having previously purchased wireless broadband provider Leap and internet services provider Netsource.
Despite this recent history of growth through acquisition, Hanrahan said the broadband provider has no plans in the short term to make any further acquisitions, although the firm remains open to the possibility. "There's nothing crystallised. There are a couple of companies below the radar that we will continue to support," he said.
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