Singtel’s NCS shells out $239m for its largest acquisition

NCS, the information and communications technology services arm of Singtel, has acquired Australian IT services major The Dialog Group in a S$325 million (US$238.9 million) deal to support its public sector and enterprise clients in Australia. The deal marks NCS’ largest acquisition to date, the company said in a statement.

(From left) NCS CEO Ng Kuo Pin, The Dialog Group CEO Alan Key, and The Dialog Group director Bob Tisdall / Photo credit: NCS

Dialog offers a portfolio of products including IT consulting, application development, and managed application services. It has a presence in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Darwin, and Adelaide.

NCS said the move would increase its headcount in Australia to 1,300 and provide new growth opportunities for its talent in the market. The combination also gives government and enterprise clients access to deep-tech capabilities across 55 specializations.

The company said it has been scaling its presence in Australia since December 2020 as part of its transformational growth efforts. NCS’ Dialog buy follows two previous acquisitions in the country, namely those of Riley and Eighty20 Solutions.

“Together, we will have a strong breadth and depth of capabilities and expertise for our clients here in Australia,” said Alan Key, CEO of Dialog.

See also: 50 rising startups in Singapore

Currency converted from Singapore dollar to US dollar: US$1 = S$1.36.