BT acquires Frontline

LONDON, UK: BT announced that the acquisition of Frontline Technologies Corporation Ltd. has been successfully completed and the new company will start operations immediately under the new brand-name of BT Frontline.

BT Frontline provides IT consulting, IT infrastructure services, systems integration and IT outsourcing to local, regional and multinational customers with a strong presence in the financial services, transportation, manufacturing, telecommunications, education, healthcare and public sectors.  BT Frontline complements BT’s existing networked IT services and IT solutions capabilities as BT Frontline has an excellent reputation for delivery of complex solutions and network management services within the Asia Pacific region.  

With BT Frontline as part of the BT Group, BT is enhancing its transformation into a customer driven, networked IT solutions provider that has the immediate ability to offer a full range of IT solutions across Asia Pacific and around the globe in the 170 countries in which BT operates. 

In Asia Pacific BT will conduct business as usual under the BT brand-name.  Frontline will operate alongside BT as BT Frontline.  By using this co-branding approach BT Frontline will be able to maintain and leverage the regional brand equity and goodwill of the Frontline name. 

BT Frontline’s wholly owned operations include undertakings in Singapore, Malaysia and Dalian, China and they will operate with immediate effect under the BT Frontline brand. BT Frontline also has additional significant subsidiaries and associate companies which will continue operating under their existing brand names. These include:

• Accel Frontline (India) – a joint venture in which BT Frontline holds 51 percent and is listed on the Indian National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange     
• MDCL Frontline based in Beijing in which BT Frontline holds a 47 percent stake
• G-Able Co. Ltd, an associated company in Thailand

As part of its strategic partnerships with Sun Microsystems BT Frontline has also set up a number of joint venture companies with Sun Microsystems in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Allen Ma, president of BT Asia Pacific said, “The people of BT Frontline bring to BT a wealth of new skills and expertise, as well as the necessary scale to rapidly accelerate our business in Asia Pacific. Among the benefits that this combination of talents represents, BT is now able to offer an even stronger capability in IT security services, a more advanced regional infrastructure services capability, greater opportunities for outsourcing and professional services, and an applications development capability with a track record in developing innovative solutions. The BT Frontline business dovetails well with BT Asia Pacific’s offering, through a highly reputable brand, a strong and diverse regional customer base, and a clear and unwavering focus on customers.”  Ma continued, “For our MNC customers operating in the region and for regional companies expanding globally, our accelerated move into the IT solutions space will provide a single supplier relationship with a broad portfolio of managed network and IT services in China, India and SE Asia.” 

Steve Ting, Chairman of BT Frontline said, “Since founding Frontline in 1993, we have come a long way.  As a part of such a successful leading global company, we are now in a position to leverage BT’s portfolio of global networked IT services and deliver our regional solutions offering to a global audience.  We see this as a real advantage for both companies’ customers as BT Frontline will bring to BT new major contracts in Asia Pacific and BT will be in a position to offer BT Frontline customers the full suite of BT services.”

BT Frontline brings to BT Asia Pacific approximately 5,000 highly skilled and professional people whose reputation for delivering complex solutions and network management services perfectly complements BT’s strategy. Including BT Frontline’s operations, BT Asia Pacific will now have over 27,000 employees, directly employed or working in joint ventures, in the region.  This acquisition significantly increases BT’s talent pool at an important time when BT has strong growth ambitions for the Asia Pacific region.  BT has heavily invested in the region over the last three years and expects to continue to grow its operations and better serve customers.

BT announced that it had agreed to acquire Frontline for approximately S$202 million on December 5, 2007. All conditions to the acquisition having been satisfied, the transaction had now been completed.