FI Group Plc, a UK-based IT services company, has completed its acquisition of IT consultancy OSI Group Holdings Ltd and is now looking further afield to strengthen its portfolio of services (CI No 3,666). Network management, facilities management and e-commerce are three areas which FI’s managing director of international operations Brian Gunn picked out as key to FI’s expansion.
North and Western Europe are the critical areas FI is eyeing for companies of a similar size to OSI, for which FI paid 106m pounds ($171.7m). There’s no point going after tiddlers, said Gunn. The US is also a focus. FI already has operations in New York and New Jersey and is scouting the Eastern US for possible purchases.
There will be no acquisition activity for some months though, as FI digests OSI and starts to try and gain value from the deal. FI will target the consultancy’s 40 major customers and both will extend their services, so that the consultancy is complemented by project management and integration.
