Midas Communication acquires Banyan Networks

By Venkatachari Jagannathan
30 April 2004

By acquiring its sister outfit, Banyan Networks, Midas Communication is all set to pool resources and reap the benefits of the synergy

Chennai: It is the turn of the two companies belonging to the TeNet group, promoted by IIT-Madras lecturers and alumni, to be bitten by the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) bug, a trend that is seen in the domestic telecom field.

In a silent move, the group's flagship company Midas Communication Technologies Private Limited (turnover $50 million) has acquired its sister outfit Banyan Networks Limited (turnover $5million). The process of merging Banyan Networks with Midas Communication is already on.

If their business plan proceeds without any hitch, the combined entity will be around Rs.550 crore by the end of this year.

However, Midas Communication chief executive officer Shirish B Purohit likes to downplay the latest development. “It had to happen one day and it has happened now,“ he says and goes on to add, “Essentially both the companies form part of the same family targeting the same set of customers.“

But the difference lies in the domain they operate in though their products are complementary. Midas Communication, the developer of the corDECT wireless in the local loop (WLL) technology, operates in the wireless telecom domain, while Banyan Networks operates in the area of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology and hardware like routers and remote access server (RAS). It is Banyan Networks' DSL technology — Direct Internet Access System (DIAS) — that is used by the telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to offer broadband connectivity to its subscribers.