Ansys makes another buy

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 30 Apr 2008

AltX-listed railway and defence IT company Ansys has made another buy, the fourth in less than a year.

The company advised shareholders that it entered into a heads of agreement with Airport interface Technologies (AiT) to buy all its assets and liabilities. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

AiT is a Sub-Saharan value-added reseller and system integrator focusing on the supply, installation, commissioning, flight calibration and long-term support of products within the communications, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management sector.

Ansys has a long track record in the design and integration of monitoring and control systems for the transport, aviation and defence sectors, it says.

CEO Allan Holloway says the transaction will expand the capabilities of Ansys in the aviation sector.

The company was part of the SA Air Force's Rooivalk attack helicopter programme. Its subsidiary Optocon last month won a R20 million contract to supply optronics to Turkey to be fitted to that country's fleet of new Agusta AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters. Ansys acquired Optocon in January for R14.5 million.

It bought the entire issued share capital of Quadsoft - a company that develops locomotive in-cab communications - for R16.75 million later that same month. It purchased Emerging Signals, a Transnet Freight Rail-approved railway signalling company, for R15 million in November.

Ansys raised R30 million on listing in June last year, which it said it would use to fund acquisitions.