British Telecommunications (BT) has today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire technology group Tikit for £64.2m.
The move represents the telecoms company’s most aggressive most yet into the UK legal market. Tikit is one of the largest independent suppliers of technology solutions and services to legal and accountancy firms. Its clients include more than 90 of the UK’s top 100 law firms, 300 US firms, 12 of the European top 20 firms and 18 of the top 50 UK accountancy firms.
Commenting on the offer, BT Retail chief executive Gavin Patterson said Tikit represented a complementary fit with BT Retail’s existing IT strategy and strengthens its position in the provision of ICT services to law firms in the UK.
“The offer will enable us to combine Tikit’s expertise, portfolio, relationships and deep understanding of the legal sector with BT Retail’s scale and breadth of products,” added Patterson in a statement. “Together, we expect to deliver a truly differentiated offering with the capacity to supply, install and support mission-critical IT applications and ICT infrastructure through a single point of contact.”
Tikit non-executive chairman Mike McGoun said: “We firmly believe that this transaction is in the best interests of our shareholders and employees. BT will enable Tikit to continue to grow and better service the needs of its clients. The board of directors unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions.”
The takeover is expected to be effective by 18 January, subject to the satisfaction of all relevant conditions.
Earlier this year a wholly owned subsidiary of the BT Group, BT Claims, unveiled plans to convert to an alternative business structure.
The move was designed to allow BT Claims, which handles legal issues relating to BT’s 35,000-strong fleet of vehicles, to roll out its service to other corporates.
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