It may seem like a late response, but European computer services companies are realizing that unless they quickly establish the critical mass required to conduct business on a global – or at least a pan European scale, then they can kiss goodbye the region’s largest contracts. As the major US services firms Electronic Data Systems Corp, IBM Corp and Computer Science Corp gain more ground in Europe, only a handful of indigenous players have been aggressively establishing themselves as worthy challengers. Last month, the Anglo/French Sema Group completed its clean out of France Telecom’s computer services interests with the purchase of Telis, the state-owned telecommunications company’s systems integration arm (CI No 3,032). Sema, which is still 20% owned by France Telecom, also took over the half of Sema Group Telecom, the telecommunications integration firm, that it did not already own. The deal was valued at $4.8m – making it an early Christmas gift from its joint largest shareholder – and follows Sema’s 1995 acquisition of a 40% share in France Telecom’s facilities management arm, TS FM. Telis adds 2,000 staff and revenues of $171m to Sema’s $1,400m operation. Also in France, two large services outfits little known outside of their home territory are getting together. Sligos, previously a subsidiary of Credit Lyonnais, is being sold for $670m to rival Axime SA (CI No 3,032). Sligos, Europe’s seventh largest systems integrator, had 1995 revenues of $820m and Axime is 26% owned by Banque Paribas and had revenues to June 30 of $408m. The merger creates the world’s seventh largest systems integrator.
