Dicker Data has completed its acquisition and transition of the Hills Security and IT (SIT) division.

The business sale agreement was voted in favour of by Hills shareholders on Wednesday, 20 April 2022, with Dicker taking full ownership from Monday, 2 May 2022.

The purchase price, based on a premium to the net assets sold, is AU$19.35m. A final adjustment for balance sheet items will occur before the end of May 2022. The acquisition will see Dicker Data transition more than 100 of the Hills team members and novate over 50 vendor contracts.

The Hills SIT division will now be recognised as Dicker Data Access and Surveillance, or DAS. This marks the dawn of a new era in security technology distribution as Dicker Data enters the market vowing to deliver the highest service levels from highly certified technical pre and post sales teams, providing just-in-time access to a comprehensive range of solutions the Company’s customers are already familiar with.

David Dicker, chairman and chief executive, says: “I’m pleased to announce the completion of our acquisition of the Hills Security and IT division. The company is now well-positioned to capitalise on the access and surveillance market and I’m confident that we have the right people in place to deliver the required outcome.”

The new DAS business unit at Dicker Data is led by Chris Price, a former commercial director of Dicker Data between 2006 and 2014.

Vlad Mitnovetski, executive director and chief operating officer at Dicker Data adds: “By acknowledging the unique dynamics of the security industry, which are different to the traditional IT distribution business, we are leveraging the historical success of the Hills division we’ve acquired and positioning DAS as the preferred distribution destination for access, surveillance products and solutions.

“The DAS division will also leverage Dicker Data’s marketing, finance, operations and logistics teams, all of whom bring decades of experience in delivering the highest standard in their respective domains, to accelerate the success of the business and drive immediate gains in customer experience and efficiency.”

The division boasts nine DAS specific trade centre locations around Australia, creating a dedicated network of pick-up and trade-only shopfronts to support thousands of existing DAS customers. Additional investments are being made from day one to create a more compelling in-store experience that resonates with more customers and to prepare the branch network to scale up significantly. Dicker Data plans to rapidly scale the DAS business by introducing its extensive network of existing partners to the new DAS solutions which will in turn create additional revenue streams for their businesses.

Vlad adds: “The DAS business is another example of how Dicker Data continues to capitalise on our market leadership and recognises the convergence of the IT channel and security market. Pairing DAS with the Company’s existing strengths, creates a compelling value proposition for both the access and surveillance industry and our existing base of over 6,200 active partners in Australia.”