Ergo on acquisition trail


11 Jul 2005

Ergo, an IT services provider based in Dublin, is planning an “aggressive” acquisition strategy over the next 18 months, having just bought PCC, an office print solutions provider based in Meath.

The acquisitions will be aimed at growing Ergo’s customer base and geographical reach around the country. Ergo managing director John Purdy confirmed to siliconrepublic.com that the company is seeking companies with IT services focus as well as some product suppliers.

Ergo has already held early-stage discussions with possible acquisition targets in the south of the country. “We are looking to spread our geographical presence by doing this,” said Purdy. “We’re looking for acquisitions where the company has good quality customer relationships and where there’s some value that can be delivered by us to them.”

Depending on the size of any potential takeover targets, Ergo will choose different ways of funding acquisitions. Purdy confirmed that the company has financial resources of its own to use if the target company is relatively small. He added: “We do have the availability to fund an acquisition through equity injections if the right opportunity comes up in terms of scale.”

According to Purdy, PCC will contribute around €1m in revenue to Ergo’s business and should add another million through cross-selling opportunities. PCC supplied products but Ergo hopes to provide IT services or software development to this same customer base. “Just because they have bought only products in the past [from PCC] doesn’t mean that’s all we could provide,” said Purdy.

Under the terms of the deal, PCC’s operations will move to the Ergo head office at Fairview in Dublin. Two of PCC’s staff have joined the Ergo team to ensure customer service continuity and ongoing account development – others left after the deal to pursue other interests.

Helen Curry, who was previously general manager with PCC, has been appointed senior account manager within the Ergo IT Products Division.

Last month Ergo, which currently employs 100 people, announced plans to recruit an additional 40 developers as part of an expansion within its consultancy division.

By Gordon Smith