Electronic Data Systems Europe should announce an acquisition in Italy in the coming weeks, said Robert McCashin, vice-president, southern Europe, by phone on Friday. We’re very, very close. We should have something by the end of the year, he said, recounting a recent trip to Italy, where he said he was getting an education in the dynamics of the Italian computing market. He says he sees the trend in Europe towards facilities management getting even better, particularly in the large banks, pointing to some mega-contracts in the UK and pending deals in Spain. Although the facilities management business in France is not yet reached a critical mass, he believes that the situation will change in 1994 and it will become a major business in 1995. As privatisation takes place, there will be a different focus on the bottom line and they will start looking at computing not just as a way to cut costs, but as a way to get a competitive edge. They will also need more capability for global operations, McCashin said. He noted that Spain, in particular, has an intense interest in expanding its global operations. Being a smaller country, where the business is smaller, maybe it’s more aggressive. I think we will see the same thing happen in Italy. From what we hear from people there, everyone is thinking in terms of borderless countries, he said. Commenting on the departure of Jacques Tordjman, formerly president of the French subsidiary EDS-GFI, McCashin said There were a lot of good things Tordjman did, acquiring small companies and such. The difference was in the vision of the future, of where the company was going and how to get there. To the question of which orientation EDS-GFI should take toward Europe, Jacques Tordjman had a different approach to ours, McCashin continued. He represented EDS-GFI as a national systems and software house, whereas we had international objectives. Our French subsidiary must certainly have national customers, but also clients outside the country. McCashin denied that Tordjman was opposed to potential cutbacks in staff. His departure has absolutely nothing to do with staff reductions, to which he would have been opposed. EDS-GFI employs 3,000 people and we do not predict any big restructuring, except if certain activities are not profitable. Right now, there are no significant problems, he said. The French subsidiary will, however, be reorganised into industry-specific areas, to be able to leverage the resources of the company, McCashin said. As a replacement for Tordjman, McCashin says he prefers a Frenchman with experience in international organisations. He adds, We have several candidates for the post.
