UXC adds Red Rock in buyout campaign

Business IT consultancy UXC has bought out Australasia's largest Oracle services provider, Sydney-based Red Rock Consulting.

Jonathan Rubinsztein, director at Red Rock Consulting, said the company had been acquired from himself, MD Greg Woollett, Duane Goff and Mike Blenkinsop for an undisclosed sum.

All four shareholders would stay, as would Red Rock's total 90 staff and current structure, he said. 'What attracted us ... was their federated model. We'll be part of their federation of businesses but still remain autonomous,' Rubinsztein said.

'And give them [and us] the capacity to grow and acquire in Australia and New Zealand.' Red Rock Consulting was the first Oracle specialist UXC had bought, he said, and was in negotiations on further Australasian acquisitions on its own behalf.

'We have a number of opportunities that we're investigating. What we hope is that we can conclude one or two deals in the next 12 months ... within the Oracle space,' he said.

Rubinsztein wouldn't give figures but said the company's support business -- which included customers such as Fuji-Xerox and Vodafone in nations such as Papua New Guinea and Indonesia -- had gone 'significantly' well for Red Rock over the last couple of years.

'We are the largest selective outsourcing business in support in Australia around Oracle,' he said. 'It's a pretty exciting part of our business.' More growth was on the cards, with eight more consultants sought in such specialities as database administration, he said.

'We're looking at both the business and technical perspective. Our customers are demanding people who aren't just technical gurus, but have a strong business understanding,' Rubinsztein said. That combination was hard to find in one person, Rubinsztein said, noting that business specialists and techheads with little expertise in technology and business respectively often misunderstood each other.

Mark Hubbard, company secretary and financial director at Melbourne-based UXC, said the $110 million multi-vendor consultancy was keen to enter the Oracle space, which Red Rock's financial results had shown was potentially lucrative. 'The Oracle space ... will complement our existing [relationships] around the Microsoft technology stack,' he said.

UXC had approached Red Rock with its offer. 'Our business model is about nurturing those things that make a business successful in the first place ... We are allowing them to continue to grow their business without having to worry about integration and branding issues,' Hubbard said.

UXC would contribute to that growth with its own back office expertise, financial control and other management skills, Hubbard said.

Red Rock Consulting is a private company and does not disclose its financial results. UXC reported a $6.673 million profit from ordinary activities for the 2002-03 financial year, up from a $2.626 million loss in the 2001-02 financial year.