Narayan AmmachchiChilean multinational IT company Sonda has picked up a 66% stake in Brazilian datacenter service provider Ativas for US$35 million, a strategic deal to capitalize on the growing demand for cloud computing in Brazil.
“The technological infrastructure associated with this new investment will enable Sonda to strengthen its business strategy for major integration and outsourcing projects, complementing its current services based on Data Center Infrastructure provided from its facilities in Sao Paulo and Latin America,” Sonda said in a press release.
In total, Sonda has set aside US$790 million for expanding both geographical reach and service offerings over the next three years.
Headquartered in Minas Gerais, Ativas is jointly owned by Cemig and Asamar, two large corporate business groups in the Brazilian state. It has a state-of-the-art datacenter in Brazil’s growing technology hub Belo Horizonte.
Ativas expects to make US$19 million in revenue in 2016. Barely six-year-old, Ativas’ sudden growth in such a short period reflects the growing demand for cloud services in Brazil.
In addition to Chile and Brazil, the Sonda has operations in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Paraguay. For the 2Q16, the company reported about 6% decrease in revenue, largely due to the weakened currencies of Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico.
Despite weakening currency and political turmoil, Sonda is focusing on winning more clients in Brazil, saying the country will represent 50% of IT spending in the region.
Mario Pavon, Sonda’s chairman, said the acquisition avoided the need for the company to establish its own data center in Brazil, which would have required at least four years of “time to market”.
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