AFRY Hoping for the Best…

/ July 17, 2022

AFRY is hoping for the best but expecting the worse for H2 2022. The company made clear that the macro-economic conditions and the geopolitical context were uncertain as ever.

More Diversification And Sustainability Ahead For Ricardo

/ November 1, 2021

Ricardo announced in September its priorities for the years to come: further client diversification, a focus on Asia and North America, a continued refresh of its service portfolio, and sustainability in all its forms. These priorities are very much in line with Ricardo’s strategy in the past few years.

Will Alten Be A Significant Clinical Trials CRO?

/ August 31, 2021

ER&D services largest pure-play, Alten, has ambitions as a clinical trials contract research organization (CRO). During Q2 2021, the company completed the acquisition of Cmed. Cmed, a clinical trial CRO based in the UK. It is a small firm with EUR 20m in revenues and 180 consultants. It has specialized in oncology, immuno-oncology, cell therapy, and rare disease.

Sweco: Is Sustainability Good Enough?

/ July 21, 2021

Sweco had a relatively mild financial performance in Q2 2021 with a 2% yoy growth at cc/cs to SEK 5,643m (USD 649m). The company did not benefit from favorable comps (Q2 2020: +2% yoy at cc/cs). Sweco suffered from its lower utilization rate and headcount

Accenture Gets Big in Germany with Umlaut

/ June 15, 2021

Accenture made a big move with the acquisition of Umlaut, an ER&D vendor headquartered in Germany. The transaction comes as a surprise: umlaut brings EUR 350m in revenues. It is the first sizable acquisition that Accenture made for Industry X. Up to now

M&As: Many Tuck-In Acquisitions and Cognizant ESG

/ April 14, 2021

ER&D vendors continue to be very active in M&As, with many tuck-in acquisitions. AFRY is now in full acquisition mode with six transactions in 2021 YTD. Competitor Sweco has also accelerated with four transactions. Accenture has made an unusual transaction by taking over a manufacturer of industrial automation and robots in Brazil for Accenture Industry X. Finally, Cognizant acquired a significant German automotive ER&D vendor, ESG.

Akka Shifts its US Strategy and Goes India-Centric

/ March 12, 2021

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.

DXC Turns Down Atos’ Bid as Low

/ February 6, 2021

Unsurprisingly, DXC Technology turned down Atos’ offer to acquire the firm. DXC considered it, USD 10bn, as reported by Reuters, as too low. The company considers it is going through a turn-around. Also, 16 months into the job, DXC’s CEO, Mike Salvino, believed it was too early to sell the Tysons, VA-based firm.

Charles River Gains Large Molecules Expertise, Targeting Biotechs

/ January 13, 2021

Charles River Labs (CRL) will gain further expertise for biotechs. The company is to acquire San Francisco-based Distributed Bio, a large molecules specialist firm focusing on antibody discovery. Distributed Bio will become part of CRL’s core R&D business, Discovery & Safety Assessment.

UPDATED: Atos Approaches DXC in a USD 10bn Transaction

/ January 7, 2021

Following a Reuters news release, European IT services vendor Atos confirmed it had submitted to the Board of DXC an unsolicited non-binding offer to acquire the firm. The offer is at a preliminary stage. Reuters estimated Atos’ offer to USD 10bn.