Continuity is the name of game as Isaac Mophatlane takes up the position of CEO of Business Connexion (BCX), following the sudden death of his twin brother Benjamin Mophatlane last month.

Speaking to a media round-table this morning, Mophatlane says the circumstances of his taking up the BCX reins is not ideal, but is important for continuity.

“I am humbled to be carrying on with what Benjamin and I started,” he says, referring to the fact that the two brothers founded BCX together and grew it to the major player it is in the South African ICT industry today.

“I think we are a unique business case in South Africa,” Mophatlane comments. “We started the company from scratch and built it up, with fantastic support.”

The company is firm on its policy of business as usual – one of the most prominent activities currently underway being the Telkom acquisition.

“However, it is still important to have milestone changes,” he says. “We are in a tough trading environment. We are all aware of the recent labour unrest and retailers, manufacturers and mines – three of the areas the BCX trades in have also been hit hard one way or another.

“As a business, we obviously have to keep our costs down, leverage our intellectual property, retain our skills and grow the business.”

Deputy CEO Vanessa Olver adds that BCX has recently complete three acquisitions in Botswana, Namibia and Nigeria, although most merger and acquisition activity has been reduced until the Telkom deal is finalised one way or another.

Shareholder meetings will be held on 11 August, with the deal either accepted or rejected there.

“At BCX we are looking forward to the transaction,” she says. “It’s important because there is consolidation in the marketplace. We have been looking for a partner for a long time. Telkom brings the communications and connectivity to deal, and BCX brings the IT skills.

“We think that between the two companies we will be able to build on what we have today.”

Following shareholder approval of the acquisition, it will then have to go to the Competition Commission for approval – a hurdle that the same proposed acquisition failed to clear 10 years ago.

“In all likelihood, the acquisition will be approved late November or early December,” Olver says. “If the transaction should not be successful, BCX has its own strategy and will continue to execute on it.”

Cloud computing and Africa are high on the agenda for BCX and it will continue to move these forward regardless of the Telkom outcome, Olver says. “The IT industry is changing daily, and we need to stay ahead of the curve.”

Despite the Competition Commission rejecting a Telkom acquisition of BCX 10 years ago, the industry is a very different place today, and Mophatlane believes there is little reason why it wouldn’t go through today.

“Ten years ago the liberalisation of the industry had not really happened,” he says. “Since then, the acquisition of Dimension Data by NTT has been allowed to go through.

“There has been a lot of consolidation in the market: Orange has entered the market, Cell C has grown and Telkom Mobile been launched.

“Whereas 10 years ago, Telkom was absolutely dominant in the market, this is no longer the case. Fixed line revenue will continue to drop and there are no growth opportunities there. In the mobile arena, Telkom Mobile entered too late and the dominance is still with Vodacom and MTN.

“Telkom will have to look at new markets, at offerings like BCX has, to survive.”