Portugal Telecom announced the acquisition of a 100% stake in the capital of GPTI, SA (GPTI), a solid 19-year old player in Brazil’s IS/IT market. The acquisition will take place through the emission of Dedic shares, a wholly owned PT subsidiary operating in the contact centre market in Brazil.
This acquisition is part of PT’s strategy of consolidation and reinforcement of its presence in Brazil, and of investment in assets to which PT may add value to complement its current portfolio. The acquisition of GPTI and its integration within Dedic will enable PT to create an integrated player in the IS/IT and BPO (business process outsourcing) sector in Brazil, develop skills in a domain closely related to telecommunications and reinforce the commercial relationship with relevant Brazilian partners. This acquisition will also enable synergy sharing and better practices with the IS/IT activity in Portugal.
GPTI is one of the main service providers in Brazil’s IS/IT sector. It owns a strong customer base and about 75% of its revenues in 2009 are the result of recurring contracts (R$ 140 million). As a consequence of this acquisition, current GPTI shareholders will hold a 12.5% stake in Dedic’s capital. This position will be able to change, according to the operational and financial performance of the company in 2010 and 2011, between 5% and 20%. The financial debt of the company amounts to R$80 million.
This acquisition has been approved by the Board of Directors of Portugal Telecom and is subject to approval by the Brazilian authorities.