Health services firm ACS is buying the veteran channel firm BSG for £15.5m, the two firms announced on Friday.

The price, at 19.11 pence per share, represents a 17 per cent premium in BSG's sharep rice last Thursday, and a 57 per cent premium on the target's average over the last three months.

ACS describes itself as a leading provider of software and IT services to the primary care sector, doing business with around half the NHS walk-in clinics in England.

It said BSG will enable to offer hosting, managed services and outsourcing to its NHS customers, enabling it to "speed up the rollout of our core growth Saas products".

London-based BSG used to be called Business Systems Group and it used to be a big corporate computer reseller. But since 2000 it has been transforming itself into a managed services business.

BSG CEO and co-founder Nick Gerard will continue to manage the BSG business within ACS. The firms already share one director - Vin Murria is chairman of BSG and CEO of ACS. ®