Telstra has acquired Versent, a local tech consultancy that specialises in Amazon’s cloud services for $267.5 million.
The deal announced on Wednesday will see the telco take full ownership in a bid to build out its Telstra Purple tech services business.
Telstra also flagged its network applications and services business will benefit from the acquisition, that it expects to close within six weeks.
The Melbourne-based Versent reported $130 million net revenue last year and employs more than 500 people. Founded in 2014, it is now led by Paul Migliorini, the former local boss of public cloud giant Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The company provides cloud transformation and security products and services, partnering with several of the market leaders. But its subsidiary Stax, a Versent division spun out of the main business that offers a proprietary AWS cloud management platform, is the main attraction.
“Versent is known in the market for providing deep, trusted technical expertise with a commitment to customer outcomes through long-term partnership and alongside Telstra Purple we can achieve greater scale with a consistent growth pipeline, particularly expanding our international presence,” Mr Migliorini said in a statement.
Versent also had another former AWS boss in Adam Beavis leading Stax until he left in July to become country manager of Databricks.
Versent has landed federal contracts worth almost $10 million, including $2 million plus deals with Defence and the Future Fund agency.
Telstra’s acquisition also includes Stax, a subsidiary of Versent that provides a self-serve cloud management platform for enterprise and mid-market customers.
Telstra Enterprise group executive David Burns said the acquisition of Versent supports Telstra’s “T25” growth strategy, and commitment to support Australia’s biggest industries.
“Since launching our Telstra Purple technology services business four years ago, we’ve seen growing demand for technology solutions – particularly in cyber security and cloud-led transformation – as enterprises, governments and whole industries continue to digitise their operations,” Mr Burns said.
Japan’s NTT was also reportedly in the bidding to acquire Versent but pulled out after negotiations with sell-side adviser Goldman Sachs.
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