PBS Acquires El Salvador-based IT rival HTC

Caribbean IT services firm PBS (Productive Business Solutions) has acquired El Salvador-based technology consultancy High Tech Corporation (HTC), with an apparent aim at tapping into the lucrative digital services contracts from local government agencies.

Neither firm has disclosed the financial details of the deal. Still, analysts say the acquisition will add more than a hundred professionals to PBS, which is listed in stock exchanges of both Jamaica and Barbados.

HTC provides a variety of IT services, including digital transformation services, with banks, telecom operators, and government agencies being its main clients.  Reports say that its Oracle training centers have significantly contributed to increasing the technology talent pool in the Central American country.

Mauricio Naranjo, vice president of PBS’ advance services and solutions unit, will take charge of overseeing HTC, according to a press release from the Caribbean firm.

PBS came into being in 2001 when its parent Musson acquired Xerox’s printing unit in Jamaica. Today it has delivery centers in most of the Central American countries, including Honduras, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.

According to the news outlet Jamaica Gleaner, PBS’ revenue decreased in recent years due to political unrest in Nicaragua.

“The acquisition of HTC will also bring synergies to other parts of PBS’s business in El Salvador,” said Pedro París, CEO of PBS.

The Caribbean firm revealed its acquisition plans in early 2017 when it expanded its operations to Colombia.