Softchoice buys another American reseller

Softchoice Corp., a Toronto-based reseller and IT consulting firm, has continued its buying spree with the takeover Optimus Solutions LLC of Norcross, Ga.

The acquisition, which is expected to close this week, will cost Softchoice US$38.1 million in cash.

Optimus, which employs 100, is a value-added reseller of servers and mainframes made by IBM Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc.’s networking equipment.

Last October, Softchoice bought the technology solutions and professional services divisions of NexInnovations, and last month the vendor acquired Software Plus, a St. Louis, Mo.-based software reseller. With the acquisition, Softchoice plans to provide hardware and services for internetworking, server consolidation and security.

Softchoice has also agreed to pay the owners of privately-held Optimus up to US$9 million this year. The exact amount will dpend on the financial performance of Optimus. The company’s president, Steven Johnson, will become a vice-president at Softchoice.