A HAMPSHIRE telecoms specialist has taken over one of its rivals in a multi-million pound deal.

Whiteley-based Onecom’s acquisition of competitor Evolve is expected to provide it with an additional £7 million of earnings before tax and deductions in the first 12 months.

It will take over Evolve’s operations in London, Cambridge and Shoeburyness, along with Cardiff-based The Word, which is owned by Evolve.

Onecom and Evolve are two of Vodafone UK’s largest business-to-business partners.

Evolve, with an annual turnover of around £20 million a year, is Vodafone UK’s third-largest partner, while Onecom, which currently turns over £60 million a year, is the largest.

Vodafone has no equity interest in either company.

The strategic acquisition consolidates Onecom, which has offices in London, Southampton, Plymouth, Leeds, Telford, Norwich and Brighton, in its position as the UK’s leading independent business-to-business communications provider.

The deal adds around 100 staff to Onecom’s existing 350-strong workforce, and 65,000 UK Vodafone business connections to its portfolio of accounts – taking the company’s total number to well over 300,000.

One of Onecom’s first commitments will be to invest in the Welsh operation, launching a recruitment drive to double the headcount there.

It is also anticipated the deal will create new positions at Onecom’s offices throughout the UK.

Darren Ridge, Onecom CEO, said: “Evolve’s customer-focused approach, expertise in unified communications and commitment to providing innovative solutions for businesses of all sizes perfectly reflect Onecom’s own strategy and values. Evolve is an extremely successful operation that will continue to blossom and grow under the Onecom brand.”

The acquisition comes during a busy year for Onecom, which recently invested £1 million in a new distribution centre in Hampshire.

It also launched a recruitment drive to create more than 30 jobs in its centre in Telford over the next six months.

Earlier this month, the company, was named UK’s Total Communications Partner , the most prestigious honour at the Vodafone Partner Awards, for the sixth year running.