Freightways Acquires New Business in Australia

Freightways Ltd. has purchased the Australian information management company, Databank Technologies Pty Ltd.

The acquisition is effective from 1 July 2006 and payment of the purchase price will be staged over two years.

DataBank is the second largest data storage company in Australia. Dean Bracewell, managing director of Freightways, noted that DataBank "is a successful business with an operating culture similar to that of Freightways".

"This acquisition in Australia is a well considered and important step in the development and growth of Freightways," Bracewell added. "Although small, relative to the size of Freightways, we expect DataBank will be a catalyst for future offshore growth in niche markets where we have proven capability."

The acquisition will extend Freightways’ business as a supplier of offsite data storage services in New Zealand through its ‘Data Security Services’ business.