Sema Group Plc said its negotiations with CEA-Industrie subsidiary Cisi SA involve the acquisition of 100% of Cisi’s share capital, but exclude its Spanish subsidiary. Pierre Bonelli said the deal was far from being concluded. The acquisition, which Sema will finance from its own resources, is contingent on the satisfactory completion of a due diligence programme, the approval of the French privatisation committee and a reorganisation of Cisi’s activities. Without committing to a date, Bonelli said that, short of any bad surprises, the work should be completed before the end of the year. It’s a big company, this takes time, he said. Sema is not interested in Cisi’s Spanish subsidiary because they are concentrated on software products: we got out of that and we’re not getting back in to it. Sema said the Atomic Energy Commission was expected to remain an important Cisi customer, contributing about 20% of revenues. Sema and CEA-I are also negotiating establishment of a joint venture in space, defence and facilities management, which would be set up only if the acquisition goes through, Bonelli said. We have great synergy with Cisi, especially in the areas of space and defence. There is also their facilities management activity, but the first two were our principal motivations, he said.