JSE-listed outsourcing company EOH has bought Airborne for an undisclosed amount, as it continues with its strategy of growing organically and through acquisitions.

Airborne, which is based in Cape Town, offers management consulting and IT services. It was founded in 2004 and has about 110 staff members.

Airborne CEO Sean O’Connell says the company decided to join EOH as it aims to become a “powerhouse” in the Western Cape, which was not possible through pure organic growth.

Airborne restructured for growth two-and-a-half years ago, just before the global meltdown, says O’Connell. He says the company reaped the benefits and recorded its best ever year by revenue and profit in 2011.

However, notes O’Connell, to grow even further, Airborne had to either acquire a company, or find the right “big brother” to buy it out. He says Airborne was “too small to be big, and too big to be small”.

Airborne CEO Sean O’Connell: It’s impossible to become a “powerhouse” in the Western Cape through pure organic growth.

EOH CEO Asher Bohbot says the acquisition gives EOH a “nice presence in the Western Cape”.