mployees from the other five divisions. It has approximately a revenue of SEK 1bn (USD 110m) and 800 employees. AFRY is gradually ramping up its digital investments and expects to spend SEK 100m in 2022, up from SEK 50m in Q1-Q3 2021.
Capgemini Phasing Out the Altran Brand and Launching Capgemini Engineering
Capgemini is phasing out the Altran brand and launching Capgemini Engineering. Capgemini Engineering will group the activities of Altran and Capgemini Digital Engineering Services (DEMS).
Akka Shifts its US Strategy and Goes India-Centric
Akka Technologies made a significant shift in its US strategy with the appointment of Dharam Sheoran. Mr. Sheroan joined from Wipro and must have been an ideal candidate for Akka. At Wipro, he headed several global service lines, including automotive and A&D. His experience, therefore, matches Akka’s presence and ambitions in the country.
With Softvision, Cognizant Is Building A New EPAM
In the past three years, Cognizant has been building Softvision as a new EPAM. Like EPAM, Softvision has grown very fast: Softvision 10-12k employees currently, from 2.8k employees at the time of its acquisition in late 2018.
UPDATED: Sweco Issues Profit Warning After German Operations Review
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NNIT Shows A Path to Growth in Pharma
We rarely talked about Denmark-based NNIT. The company is the former IT captive of Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk, thus the name NNIT, which stands for Novo Nordisk IT.
Europe Has Entered its Second Lockdown. A Look at Financial Implications
Europe has now entered its second lockdown. The lockdowns have different restrictions levels and different lengths. The UK and France are running for the full month of November. Officials in the two countries have, however, warned the lockdown might last longer, until Christmas at least.
Akka Raises EUR 200m. Share Up 40%
Akka’s share was up by almost 40% on Tuesday (October 6). The company reassured investors by raising EUR 200 at favorable terms for existing shareholders
Assystem Reassures About Expleo’s Financials
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Expleo’s New CEO: A Perfect Resume and Daunting Challenges
We just learned that Expleo has a new CEO, Rajesh Krishnamurthy. On paper, Mr. Krishnamurthy, has everything right for Expleo. He is a French citizen of Indian origin. He has held senior roles at Infosys, including one as head of the Energy, Utilities, and Telco division, a major responsibility as Infosys is organized by vertical. He also led Infosys Global Consulting.
Renault Considering R&D Outsourcing to Save EUR 200m Annually
Renault is considering R&D outsourcing to save EUR 100-200m annually. The company currently works with approximately 15 ER&D vendors and wants to reduce its number of preferred partners to five.
Covid-19 Will Mostly Impact the ER&D Onshore Industry
Since we published our last note on the impact of Covid-19 on ER&D spending, the situation has changed with Covid-19, having now spread to Europe and soon the US. Already, The European Central Bank is predicting a GDP decline of 5% in 2020, based on the impact of three months of confinement.
The Head of Tech Mahindra IES Becomes COO at Cyient
Karthik Natarajan, the former head of Tech Mahindra’s Integrated Engineering Services (IES), has joined Cyient as COO. We think, the appointment of Mr. Natarajan is a welcome move for Cyient, which has faced growth challenges in the past quarters, resulting from its client concentration and its exposure to Boeing and Pratt & Whitney.
What An Economic Recession Means to the ER&D Industry
The US Federal Reserve yesterday lowered “the target range for the federal funds” by 50 bps to 1%-1.25%. Although the “fundamentals of the US economy remain strong,” “the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity,” communicated the Fed.
Covid-19: Slowdown in ER&D Spending Now Likely
Currently, Covid-19 has only affected China significantly, although having spread in South Korea, Japan, and Northern Italy.
Several ER&D vendors have been impacted so far: Ricardo has warned that the situation in the Chinese automotive market would have a “material” effect on its profit.
Oncodesign Restructures into Two Business Units
Oncodesign has restructured its business into three distinct business units (BU): Service, Biotech, and AI. Each BU will have its own objectives and delivery organization.
NelsonHall: Accenture’s Industry X.0 Expands its Focus to Digital Manufacturing Use Cases
NelsonHall has published a new blog about how Accenture, through Industry X.0, is not only targeting product design and engineering opportunities but also digital manufacturing.
Akka Raises EUR 175m in Convertible Bonds. But Why?
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
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.
ÅF Pöyry Changes Its Brand to AFRY
Swedish ER&D service vendor ÅF Pöyry changed its brand to AFRY, the amalgamation of ÅF and pöyRY. Meanwhile, its legal name will remain ÅF Pöyry.
Airbus’ next priority is digital manufacturing
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Capgemini’s acquisition of Altran in trouble?
Capgemini’s proposition of Altran for EUR 14 per share is getting more complicated.
Assystem’s nuclear M&A strategy in a dead-end?
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An introduction to Evotec
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The ER&D service industry is getting closer to a spending inflection point
The performance of major ER&D service vendors showed great diversity in Q2. Alten showed, as always, very solid growth (+ 12.4% at CC/CS) and so did HCL Tech (+13.3% at CC).