Akka Raises EUR 175m in Convertible Bonds. But Why?

/ November 28, 2019

We don’t usually comment on the financial performance of ER&D service vendors beyond their financials. But this time, this is a little bit different: Akka Technologies raised yesterday EUR 175m in convertible bonds, a significant amount for Akka, which has a market cap of EUR ~EUR 1.2bn.

Capgemini’s Acquisition of Altran Delayed by Elliott by Up to Five Months

/ November 28, 2019

Capgemini’s acquisition of Altran will be delayed by up to six months. Edge Fund Elliott has, through intermediaries, brought, the case to court. The initial ruling on December 4 will decide if the acquisition will be suspended. A final ruling will occur by end of the March at the latest.

UPDATED: Segula finalizes its outsourcing contract with PSA. Reduced scope!

/ August 30, 2019

PSA finalized its outsourcing contract with Segula, almost one year after it was announced. Looking at the details, the scope of the contract is much smaller than expected, with the people transfer initially involving 700 employees, rather than the 2,000 expected. Segula has agreed to take over the new engineers and guaranteed similar wages and benefits and also purchasing buildings and facilities.

HCL Tech completes the acquisition of IBM software products

/ July 3, 2019

HCL Tech has closed the acquisition of several IBM products. The company has now ownership of AppScan, BigFix, Commerce, Connections, Digital Experience (Portal and Content Manager), Notes Domino, and Unica. We assume the price of the transaction has not changed and still is USD 1.8bn.

Capgemini to acquire Altran for €5.0bn: early thoughts

/ June 24, 2019

Capgemini is to acquire Altran, for €5.0bn, including €3.6bn in cash and Altran’s net debt of €1.4bn (gross debt of €1.8bn). The company has already secured the 11% stake in Altran that Apax Partners holds and will rely on the financing, on its €1bn cash position and a €4.4bn bond issue.

Altran phases out the Aricent brand

/ April 15, 2019

Altran has phased out the Aricent brand in North America and now trades under the Altran brand. The company highlights it now has three primary brands: Aricent for its core ER&D services, Cambridge Consultants for its “innovation consulting” capabilities, and Frog for product design

L&T to launch a hostile take-over over Mindtree

/ March 22, 2019

If you follow what’s going in India, you are probably well aware that the manufacturing conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has acquired 20.3% of Mindtree, from a passive promoter (the Indian term for key shareholders, usually founders).

Cyient takes full control of Rangsons Electronics

/ January 25, 2019

Cyient has acquired the remaining 26% in Rangsons Electronics it did know own, for ~USD 60m. The name Rangsons Electronics may not ring a bell, as Cyient now reports the business under the name DLM.

2018: A Year in Review

/ January 3, 2019

2018 was an eventful year: the top ER&D vendors accelerated their M&A activities. Alten continued to deploy its business model. HCL Tech’s ERS unit had a superb year