BT to acquire Singapore tech firm

SINGAPORE: British telecoms giant BT Group said Wednesday it is acquiring Singapore-based Frontline Technologies for 202 million Singapore dollars (US$140 million) to beef up its regional presence.

The British telecom giant will pay 24.5 cents for each Frontline share, representing a 33.9 percent premium to the Singapore firm's one-month average share price.

"Through this acquisition we reinforce our ability to provide high quality services to our customers wherever they do business," François Barrault, chief executive of BT Global Services, said in a statement.

"We believe our combined reach and skills will create an unbeatable team in Asia Pacific as we seek to respond better to our customers' challenges and opportunities."

Established in 1993, Frontline provides end-to-end information technology (IT) services such consulting and security solutions and it has over 5,000 specialist staff in nine Asian markets including China, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan and Thailand.