Hyro buys Indigo for $4.5m as part of regional push

Online services provider, Hyro, has acquired Asia-Pacific e-business group, Indigo Pacific, for $4.5 million.

The purchase follows Hyro's acquisition of Dutch company Getronics' Application Services business in Hong Kong, China and Macau last month. As well as growing its local footprint, Indigo gives Hyro entry into Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and the US.

The deal will swell the company's overall Asian headcount to about 220 people, a third of its total workforce. Hyro chief of marketing and strategy, Richard Lord, said Indigo's strength in connections between digital channels and business systems will give its systems extra depth as the company expands its Asian presence.

While there was some overlap between its skills and Indigo's, Lord argued these were largely complementary, with Indigo adding a focus on forms and workflow automation and integration to e-business.

Lord said Indigo's 35 local staff will be retained. The acquisition should take three years to complete. Hyro expects Indigo will contribute $15 million in revenue to the group during 2008.

The acquisition of Indigo will benefit Indigo's current client base too, according to Lord, as Hyro brings additional end-to-end online marketing and systems integration skills.

Indigo's list of customers include banks such as Westpac, St George and ANZ as well as government agencies including the NSW Police Service, healthcare, education, automotive, manufacturing and telecommunications companies.

Hyro now has over 400 staff in Australia. Indigo is one of several acquisitions it had made in the past year. Last November, Hyro acquired local services company, One Planet Solutions, as well as Melbourne-based integrator, Synergy Plus.

Lord said the company will continue looking for further acquisitions that aligned with its overall corporate strategy.