British Telecommunications Plc’s systems integration business, Syntegra, has taken over French company Europe Informatique SA for an undisclosed sum as part of its strategy to expand onto the continent by acquisition; similar takeovers in Germany and the Netherlands are expected shortly. The company is also soon to announce strategic alliances in the Far East. According to Syntegra, there is a particularly good fit between it and Europe Informatique, which lists Compagnie Generale des Eaux SA and Credit Lyonnais among its facilities management customers. We wanted to have a good modern company in France, but finding one that had this modern outlook was difficult; this one was not soaked in large mainframe skills, it said. The prize specialises in client-server systems and the implementation of SAP applications, particularly in finance, manufacturing and utilities. Syntegra already has an office and customers in France, mainly for its trading systems. Europe Informatique will keep its identity for around nine months, but will then be absorbed. The Paris-based company employs 200 people and expects revenues for 1995 of around ú13.5m.
