Wellington, May 4 NZPA - New Zealand company Integral Technology Group has bought fellow privately owned information technology Axon Computer Systems for as much as an estimated $18 million.

The information and communication technology (ICT) services company would have annual revenue of around $150 million, and about 360 staff, Integral executive chairman David Sutherland said.

The companies would be able to achieve faster growth as a combined entity, he said.

Staff from both companies would form the new management team, with Integral's managing director Ray Noonan the new managing director. Axon chief executive Scott Green will take on an advisory role to the board.

The company name and brand has yet to be decided.

The deal was believed to be worth between $15m and $18m, and would create a company as large as TelstraClear and the local arm of Fujitsu in terms of revenue and scale, IDC analyst Jenna Woolley said.

Staff numbers were expected to fall significantly as part of the company integration, she said.

Axon was the larger of the two companies with more than 250 staff, specialising in procurement and infrastructure outsourcing. Axon had strong alliances with HP and Microsoft.

Integral had about 130 staff, and strong alliances with IBM and Microsoft. The company focused on hosting and outsourcing services.

"IDC expects that in line with stated strategies of both businesses, the focus will increasingly turn to outsourcing, and other professional services and away from commoditised product deals," Ms Woolley said.