Aussies to pick up Konica for $132m

Evan Johnson will retain his role as managing director of the New Zealand businesses and will join the CSG steering committee to develop operations in both countries.

A Northern Territory IT services company is to buy Konica Minolta New Zealand and its associated leasing business for $132 million.

CSG is listed on the Australian stock exchange and plans to partly fund the deal through a A$65 million share placement.

It is taking a 90 per cent share in print services company Konica Minolta Business Solutions and acquiring equipment financing firm Leasing Solutions outright.

The businesses are together known as the Onesource group and were bought from finance company Hanover Group for $150 million in a management buyout four years ago.

Onesource chief executive Evan Johnson led the deal, backed by Australian private equity firm Archer Capital.

He will retain his role as managing director of the New Zealand businesses and will join the CSG Australasian Steering Committee to develop operations in both countries.

At the time of the purchase from Hanover there was talk of Australasian expansion and even a public float.

Onesource did move into Australia at one point but then the credit crunch and the recession intervened, Johnson said. "The opportunity to expand was pretty much washed down the river."

However, he said in four years the group had paid off a lot of debt and consolidated its position, and the shareholders had made money on the deal.

While acknowledging that with a private equity shareholder "you're always for sale", Archer Capital was prepared to stay in for longer, he said. But the timing was good for CSG. "They are on a growth strategy and they saw New Zealand as a very good fit for their business."

CSG is the largest independent document solutions provider in Australia, with annual revenue of $197 million and 800 staff across the country. It is the only nationally listed company headquartered in the Northern Territory.

Konica Minolta is the largest independent on this side of the Tasman, with annual revenue of $120 million and around 25 per cent of the New Zealand market.

Its business includes supplying printers, copiers and digital printing equipment, and providing related software and support and maintenance services.

Ten per cent of the company will be retained by Konica Minolta Business Technologies in Japan, which has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with CSG.

Leasing Solutions is the exclusive finance provider to Konica Minolta, with an AA- rated finance book of $130 million.

Johnson said Onesource and CSG had similar business models.

The acquisition is subject to New Zealand Overseas Investment Office and CSG shareholder approval, and is expected to be completed by the end of next month.