OSAKA -- Kyocera will acquire a U.K.-based supplier of office equipment and information technology services, aiming to shore up its own printer and copier operations in Europe and the U.S. to compensate for its flagging component business.
The Japanese company is expected to buy Annodata through subsidiary Kyocera Document Solutions for around 10 billion yen ($87.7 million). The companies are seen inking a deal as early as Tuesday U.K. time.
Based in the English county of Hertfordshire, Annodata sells and maintains printers and copiers from manufacturers such as Kyocera. It also offers IT services such as server and network setup and cloud services. It employs about 340 people and logged roughly $80 million in sales for the year ended in June.
One of Annodata's specialties is building unified communications infrastructure for offices. Kyocera plans to send employees to the company to glean network and maintenance know-how to be used to make further inroads in Europe and North America.
Kyocera bought the Ceyoniq group, a German developer of document management software, in November 2015. The Japanese company aims to get a leg up on rivals by offering comprehensive service packages to European and U.S. businesses, bundling its own copiers with Annodata's services and Ceyoniq's software.
Kyocera's information equipment segment logged 336.3 billion yen in sales for the fiscal year ended March 2016, accounting for about 20% of total revenue. The company expects the Annodata acquisition to boost segment sales by around 100 billion yen by the fiscal year through March 2020.
Slowing smartphone sales have weighed on Kyocera's mainstay electronic components business. With other areas such as solar power and mobile phones slumping as well, net profit is projected to drop 22% in fiscal 2016.
(Nikkei)