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.

ÅF Pöyry Suffers from The Economic Conditions in Q3 2019

/ October 30, 2019

ÅF Pöyry’s revenue growth (yoy, at CC/CS) continued to decelerate this quarter, declining from +8% in Q1 to +1% in Q3 2019, despite the positive impact of an additional working day (+90 bps on revenue growth during the quarter). The company suffered from the same issues as in Q2: a slowdown in the automotive sector from its largest automotive client, (impacting Industrial & Digital Solutions Division) and delayed decision-making in the Infrastructure Division in Denmark.

Accenture Acquires Two Firms in October YTD

/ October 20, 2019

It has been almost three years since Accenture launched Industry X.0, and we estimate that Accenture acquired nine competitors in these 36 months. The pace is accelerating with Accenture having five competitors in 2019, YTD.

Wipro Expecting An Acceleration in E&IS from Q3 Onward

/ October 19, 2019

During its Q2 FY20 earnings call, Wipro provided some light about the performance of its Industrial & Engineering Services (E&IS) unit.
It is not so long ago that Wipro was corporate India’s strongest name for ER&D services, mostly servicing clients in the network equipment provider industry and also semiconductor manufacturers.

Ausy Acquired by Randstad

/ June 20, 2016

Ausy will be acquired by Dutch interim work giant Randstad, for an enterprise value of appr. EUR 420m.

Ausy is a mid-sized French services vendor with 2015 revenues of EUR 394m (pro-forma EUR 461m). The company is active in both IT services and ER&D service