Dicker Data acquires Hills Security and IT division
Dicker Data has completed its acquisition and transition of the Hills Security and IT (SIT) division.
The business sale agreement was voted in favour of by Hills shareholders on Wednesday, 20 April 2022, with the company taking full ownership from Monday, 02 May 2022.
The purchase price, based on a premium to the net assets sold, is $19.35 million. A final adjustment for balance sheet items will occur before the end of May 2022, according to the company.
The acquisition will see Dicker Data transition more than 100 of the Hills team members and novate over 50 vendor contracts.
Following the company's acquisition, the Hills SIT division will now be recognised as Dicker Data Access and Surveillance, or DAS.
According to Dicker Data, this marks a new era in security technology distribution. The company states it is focused on delivering "the highest service levels from highly certified technical pre and post sales teams, providing just-in-time access to a comprehensive range of solutions the company's customers are already familiar with".
David Dicker, Chairman and CEO, says "I'm pleased to announce the completion of our acquisition of the Hills Security and IT division. The company is now well-positioned to capitalise on the access and surveillance market and I'm confident that we have the right people in place to deliver the required outcome.
The new DAS business unit at Dicker Data is led by Chris Price who re-joined the company in January 2022 in the role of general manager - DAS.
Price is the former commercial director of Dicker Data, having worked for the company between 2006 and 2014. He has since held director-level roles with other technology companies such as HP.
Vlad Mitnovetski, executive director and chief operating officer, Dicker Data says, "By acknowledging the unique dynamics of the security industry, which are different to the traditional IT distribution business, we are leveraging the historical success of the Hills division we've acquired and positioning DAS as the preferred distribution destination for access, surveillance products and solutions.
"The DAS business will be serviced by a dedicated team of sales, technical and product professionals under the leadership of Chris Price who joined Dicker Data in January 2022 as general manager of our new DAS division.
"The DAS division will also leverage Dicker Data's marketing, finance, operations and logistics teams, all of whom bring decades of experience in delivering the highest standard in their respective domains, to accelerate the success of the business and drive immediate gains in customer experience and efficiency.
Vlad Mitnovetski added, "The DAS business is another example of how Dicker Data continues to capitalise on our market leadership and recognises the convergence of the IT channel and security market.
"Pairing DAS with the Company's existing strengths, creates a compelling value proposition for both the access and surveillance industry and our existing base of over 6,200 active partners in Australia.
The division boasts nine DAS specific trade centre locations around Australia, creating a dedicated network of pick-up and trade-only shopfronts to support thousands of existing DAS customers.
According to Dicker Data, additional investments are being made from day one to create a more compelling in-store experience that resonates with more customers and to prepare the branch network to scale up significantly.
Dicker Data states it plans to rapidly scale the DAS business by introducing its extensive network of existing partners to the new DAS solutions which will in turn create additional revenue streams for their businesses.
