TelstraClear Ltd. has made its first acquisition in the IT market with the purchase of Sytec Resources Ltd., but rumours abound that there is a bigger purchase to come.

It paid NZ$12 million (US$8.4 million) for Sytec, mainly for its security and IP telephony skills, says TelstraClear chief executive Rosemary Howard.

Sytec has 140 staff, in New Zealand, Sydney, Melbourne and London. Howard says no jobs will be lost. It?s largest customer is BP in Australia. Sytec subsidiary DMZ Global, which manages outsourced internet infrastructure for businesses, is included in the acquisition.

When pressed on another buy-out, Howard referred instead to the focus TelstraClear will put on integrating Sytec. Competency rather than bulk revenue is the way forward, according to Howard.

But the rumour mill is adamant that TelstraClear will buy a big company before Christmas. Three names are widely touted: Unisys New Zealand, Datacraft and Datacom. There are as many reasons given for each one being bought as there are against.

Another source says Axon is back on the table after an earlier offer by TelstraClear was rejected.