General Datatech, the Northwest Dallas technology infrastructure company known as GDT, has signed an agreement to be acquired by UK-based IT infrastructure provider Softcat plc in a transaction valued at $1.05 billion. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, after which GDT will operate as a Softcat subsidiary while retaining its roughly 900 employees and leadership team.
The definitive agreement, announced Thursday, follows H.I.G. Capital's investment in GDT in 2021, according to H.I.G. Capital. Softcat, which trades on the London Stock Exchange, plans to finance the purchase with £100 million in existing cash, £550 million in new debt facilities and about £350 million from a UK equity placing, according to AJ Bell.
GDT specializes in networking services — the systems that connect computers and other devices so companies can share resources across data centers. As reported by the Dallas Morning News, GDT is based in Northwest Dallas and specializes in data center infrastructure for enterprise clients. Softcat, meanwhile, employs around 2,800 people and is a UK-based IT infrastructure provider, the paper reports.
Why Softcat Picked GDT After Years of Searching
Softcat CEO Graham Charlton said the company considered 100 U.S. technology targets while looking for a North American platform, according to IT Channel Oxygen. The search reflected requests from Softcat customers for support beyond the UK and Ireland, particularly in North America, the Dallas Morning News reported. Charlton said GDT stood out for its U.S. scale, enterprise customer base, data-center and networking expertise, and customer-focused culture, according to the paper.
GDT CEO Shawn O'Grady said the transaction will give the company access to broader solutions, additional resources and a wider international reach, according to the Dallas Morning News. He also said the combination could create more opportunities for GDT employees as the business expands within Softcat.
Five Years Under Private Equity
During H.I.G. Capital's ownership of GDT, the company doubled its EBITDA, increased the share of profit from recurring business and opened a global delivery center in Bangalore, according to H.I.G. Capital. The Bangalore campus employs more than 200 people, the Dallas Morning News reported. GDT also expanded its capabilities through the September 2024 acquisition of MDS Global IT, which added to its Cisco unified contact center and collaboration practice, according to GDT. MDS brought enterprise clients in banking, healthcare and retail, GDT said.
GDT traces its roots to 1996, according to the company. After H.I.G. Capital's 2021 investment, Shawn O'Grady became GDT's chair and CEO.
How GDT Has Expanded
The available record shows a company that has broadened its business since its 1996 founding and H.I.G. Capital's 2021 investment, rather than one whose ownership history ends with the pending Softcat deal. GDT said it acquired MDS Global IT on Sept. 24, 2024, to expand its international collaboration and contact center practice.
GDT currently has about 900 employees, including more than 200 at its Bangalore delivery center, while its leadership remains in place for the Softcat transition. The reported figures describe its present footprint and expansion initiatives but do not establish how total Dallas-area employment changed from the company's founding.
A Deal Rooted in DFW's Data Center Explosion
The transaction comes as Dallas-Fort Worth continues to attract data-center development. The Dallas Morning News reported that the region has dozens of operating data centers and dozens more projects underway, while four companies alone had filed state registrations for projects totaling more than $1 billion. In August, commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield ranked Dallas-Fort Worth the world's No. 1 primary data-center market across 24 measures, according to Dallas Innovates.
JLL put the region's existing data-center inventory at 4,587 megawatts, according to Dallas Innovates. Wholesale vacancy was below 1 percent even as 3,202 megawatts were under construction, the outlet reported. GDT's work supplying IT infrastructure and systems integration places it within the broader market supporting that expansion.
Growth Is Straining Local Infrastructure
The boom isn't without friction. Questions about local infrastructure and policy readiness accompany data-center development.
Elsewhere in the region, Compass Datacenters operators Michael Carvalho and Crystal Conroy walked through an unfinished data hall in Red Oak, according to the Dallas Morning News. Whether GDT pursues further U.S. acquisitions under Softcat ownership, or how DFW's infrastructure constraints might affect future deployment timelines, remains to be seen.
