Softcat has agreed to acquire US technology-services provider GDT for an enterprise value of $1.05 billion, or about £785 million, expanding the UK company’s presence in data-centre and networking services across North America.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of calendar 2027, subject to the usual closing conditions. It is a signed acquisition agreement, not a completed transaction. Softcat said it would fund the purchase through cash, new debt facilities and an equity issue.
GDT sells and supports IT infrastructure, including data-centre and networking systems. Softcat is better known for technology procurement and lifecycle management. The companies say the combination will give customers a broader transatlantic service platform, but integration and customer retention will determine whether that promise translates into results.
What Softcat is buying
In its announcement, Softcat described GDT as a North American technology solutions business with capabilities in data centres and networking. The acquisition gives Softcat a larger route into the US market, where enterprise customers are increasing spending on computing capacity, cyber security and network upgrades.
Enterprise value measures the value of a company’s equity and debt, less cash. It is not the same as the cash paid to shareholders. The final funding mix matters because new equity can dilute existing shareholders, while debt raises future interest costs.
Funding and expected financial effect
Softcat plans a £350 million equity placing, alongside a £100 million term loan and a £450 million revolving credit facility. A revolving facility is a credit line a company can draw, repay and draw again within agreed limits.
The company expects the acquisition to be high-single-digit to low-double-digit accretive to underlying earnings per share in its first full financial year. That is management guidance, not a reported outcome, and depends on closing, financing costs, integration and trading conditions.
Softcat also raised its outlook for full-year 2026 underlying operating-profit growth to the high teens, from a previous mid-teens expectation. Its preliminary results are due on 14 October, when investors will have more detail on current trading and the proposed transaction.
Why data-centre services matter
Companies building or modernising data centres need more than servers. They also require power, cooling, network equipment, security and ongoing maintenance. The acquisition gives Softcat a more specialised set of US capabilities at a time when AI-related infrastructure demand is lifting spending across these areas.
That spending is also reshaping adjacent markets. Our earlier report on data-centre cooling investment examined why equipment suppliers are adding capacity close to major US projects.
Softcat’s immediate task is to close the acquisition without disrupting two customer bases. The longer-term test is whether GDT’s technical services and Softcat’s procurement model produce enough cross-selling and international revenue to justify the purchase price and new financing.
