Safaricom Set to Acquire IT Solutions Provider, Seven Seas, Reports

Safaricom is reported by Business Daily of planning to acquire Kenya’s premier IT Solutions company, Seven Seas Technologies (SST). We know that Seven Seas and Safaricom are to launch a Cloud Services partnership on Tuesday called Safaricom Cloud.

BD Africa is reporting that “the two firms had agreed to a buyout plan that was scuttled by the board of the mobile telephony firm which raised concerns over the viability of the business, paving way for the two-year partnership.”

It is not out of the ordinary since Safaricom has always indicated that it will acquire or partner with firms which will make them have a strong business footing in the market. The buyout plan is reported to have been blocked by Safaricom’s blog in the meantime with the latter raising questions over its viability. SST is a leading IT’s data, network, software, storage and cloud solutions developer or provider. It currently has presence in almost half a dozen countries in East, South and Central Africa.

The two firms will launched managed cloud solutions with the revenue share ratio not being clear. It is not clear how receptive clients of the cloud services but it is an almost not exploited market. SST will build the virtual or software solutions and manage them will Safaricom will provide the internet connection, market the business, provide customer care and support the network according to BD.

“We have been tasked to demonstrate that’ there is a market for managed services in the next 24 months,” Silvia Mulinge, Safaricom’s General Manager for Enterprise Business is quoted to have said.

“The board felt that we should take a moderate approach and that’s why we are entering into a partnership before we can pursue an acquisition of a majority stake in the firm,” she is quoted further.

SST is owned and Managed by Mike Macharia (founder) the late James Gachui and a which reportedly owns a 21.5 per cent stake.

Safaricom had in the past two years acquired three other companies; One Communications (a Wimax services provider in August 2008, Packet Stream Data Networks (a wireless Internet provider) IGO Wireless and Instaconnect.

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