Softcat’s $1.05 billion GDT deal pushes UK reseller deeper into U.S. infrastructure services

Softcat has agreed to acquire Dallas-based General Datatech for an enterprise value of $1.05 billion, a deal that would materially increase the UK IT provider’s exposure to the U.S. market and expand its role in data-center, networking and AI infrastructure services.¹

Announced September 17, the deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of calendar 2027, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.¹ Softcat said the acquisition of GDT Topco would add a U.S.-based, multi-vendor IT solutions provider with about 700 upper-mid-market and enterprise customers; relationships with vendors including Cisco, NetApp and Nvidia; and capabilities across networking, data centers, AI infrastructure and cybersecurity.¹

The acquisition marks a step change for Softcat, which has historically focused on the UK and Ireland and is best known for IT procurement, lifecycle management and related services. GDT described the combination as creating a transatlantic IT solutions platform, with Softcat contributing procurement and lifecycle strengths and GDT adding North American data-center and networking depth.⁵

A larger U.S. footprint

Softcat framed the deal as a response to customer demand for support beyond the UK and Ireland, particularly in North America.⁵ The company said GDT gives it access to the world’s largest technology and IT market, which it estimated at about $550 billion to $650 billion in annual spending.¹

That geographic shift is central to the transaction. Softcat has been investing organically in North America, but GDT provides immediate scale, an established U.S. enterprise customer base and an operating platform in Dallas. Reuters reported that the deal would give Softcat access to GDT’s enterprise customers and U.S. operations as IT infrastructure providers benefit from demand for AI-related networking, data-center and cybersecurity solutions.⁶

GDT said it will keep its name, leadership team and workforce and operate as a wholly owned Softcat subsidiary.⁵ That structure may help preserve customer relationships in the near term, but it also leaves Softcat to balance local autonomy with the integration needed to generate cross-selling benefits.

Funding changes the balance sheet

Softcat is funding the purchase with balance-sheet cash, debt and new equity. The package includes £100 million of cash, £550 million of new debt facilities — a £450 million revolving credit facility and a £100 million term loan — and about £350 million from an equity placing expected to represent less than 10% of issued share capital.¹

In a separate financing announcement, Softcat said it intended to raise gross proceeds of about £350 million through an equity issue to help fund the GDT acquisition. The issue includes a non-pre-emptive institutional placing and a UK retail offer through RetailBook.² The retail offer notice said UK investors could participate through eligible brokers and platforms, with a minimum subscription of £250. Proceeds are also earmarked to part-fund the GDT purchase.³

The financing moves Softcat from net cash into modest leverage. The company expects net debt leverage of about 1.3 times at closing, compared with net cash of about 0.7 times at the end of fiscal 2026. It forecasts leverage below 1.0 times by fiscal 2028, in line with a new target leverage range of 0.5 times to 1.0 times.¹

Softcat said the acquisition should be high-single-digit to low-double-digit accretive to underlying earnings per share in the first full fiscal year after completion.¹ That forecast depends on closing, financing costs, operating performance and integration. Market Business News noted that the final funding mix matters because equity can dilute shareholders while debt increases future interest costs.⁷

AI demand drives the strategic case

The core strategic bet is that corporate demand for AI workloads will require more data-center, networking, cloud and cybersecurity services. GDT’s seller, H.I.G. Capital, described the company as delivering secure, enterprise-grade, AI-ready infrastructure and services across networking, hybrid cloud, data-center, cybersecurity and collaboration practices.⁴

Softcat said GDT is recognized as a networking, AI infrastructure and data-center partner with end-to-end capabilities across advisory, architecture, implementation and management.¹ That profile moves Softcat beyond product resale and procurement toward higher-touch design, deployment and managed infrastructure work.

GDT’s announcement highlighted the combined company’s ability to help customers build secure, connected infrastructure for AI workloads. It also said customers would gain broader vendor relationships and support across the IT lifecycle, from desktop to data center.⁵

The deal adds an offshore delivery component. Softcat said GDT has an established service delivery and business operations team in Bengaluru, India, including about 230 people, giving the group a platform for engineering talent, operations support and 24/7 customer service.¹ H.I.G. and Money Talk both pointed to the Bangalore delivery center as part of GDT’s transformation under private equity ownership.⁴⁸

Integration is the test

The transaction gives Softcat a more credible U.S. infrastructure services platform, but the deal thesis is not automatic. Softcat is buying a business with a different geography, customer profile, service intensity and operating model. It must retain GDT’s enterprise customers, keep technical employees and preserve vendor relationships while introducing Softcat’s broader portfolio.

Market Business News described the deal as a move beyond UK-centered IT procurement and said integration and customer retention would determine whether the transatlantic service-platform promise converts into results.⁷ That is the main risk behind the data-center thesis: demand for AI infrastructure is strong, but customers buying complex networking and data-center services are often relationship-driven and execution-sensitive.

Softcat is also buying after a period of reported growth at GDT. H.I.G. said GDT doubled EBITDA during its ownership, expanded in high-growth sectors and increased its mix of recurring gross profit.⁴ Money Talk reported that the five-year H.I.G. ownership period included a shift toward recurring revenue models and expansion into hybrid cloud, cybersecurity and AI-ready infrastructure.⁸

For Softcat, that history supports the rationale for paying a large enterprise value. It also raises the bar. Investors will expect the acquired growth and recurring-revenue mix to continue after the business moves from private equity ownership into a UK-listed group.

Trading update provides backdrop

Softcat announced the deal alongside a stronger trading update. The company said it now expects high-teens growth in underlying operating profit for fiscal 2026, up from a previous mid-teens expectation. It also expects gross profit growth moderately above that level and cash conversion toward the top end of its 85% to 95% guidance range.¹

Excluding any GDT contribution, Softcat expects high-single-digit underlying operating profit growth in fiscal 2027. Preliminary fiscal 2026 results are scheduled for October 14, 2026.¹

That operating momentum gives Softcat room to pursue a larger acquisition from a position of strength. But the GDT purchase changes the group’s exposure: more U.S. revenue, more infrastructure services, more leverage and greater reliance on complex customer work. The deal’s success will depend less on the headline price than on whether Softcat can turn GDT’s U.S. relationships into durable, cross-border demand for data-center, networking and AI infrastructure services.