AFRY Acquires A Security Management Unit in Norway
AFRY, the former ÅF Pöyry, made another tuck-in acquisition, in line with its strategy to strengthen its current businesses. The company acquired Norway-headquartered One World.
One World is a small firm with revenues of SEK 15m (USD 1.6m) and 8 employees. It develops and maintains security and energy management systems. One World will complement AFRY’s real estate and construction project management unit in Norway, Advansia. Advansia itself had become part of ÅF in 2012, bringing 200 consulting, and was the main firm on which ÅF had based its development in Norway.
AFRY has a peculiar strategy with its vast service portfolio and its presence mostly in three countries in the Nordics. The company is rolling out its portfolio in the region with success and has focused last year on infrastructure consulting and industry consulting, mostly through its Poÿry acquisition.
The downside of this strategy is that AFRY has not invested as much as it could have done on digital capabilities (i.e., cloud, analytics, security) that sit at the intersection between IT services and ER&D services. Looking back, Data Respons, which is currently being acquired by Akka Technologies, would have fitted nicely in AFRY’s portfolio. A missed opportunity we think.