BrazilSopra Steria acquires German IT consulting firm Bluecarat
European IT services company Sopra Steria has added €33 million to its revenue base in Germany following the acquisition of Bluecarat, a Germany-based IT consultancy with offices in Cologne, Frankfurt and Hamburg.
Formed in 2014 following the merger of the two large French digital services companies Sopra and Steria, founded respectively in 1968 and 1969, Sopra Steria is today one of Europe’s largest companies specialised in technology and digital transformation services. The firm’s headcount tallies around 40,000 employees across more than 20 countries – together Sopra Steria’s workforce generate €3.7 billion in revenues.
The company’s German arm accounts for about 7% of group revenues (in comparison; France’s share is 41%), and in line with its ambition to ramp up its position in Europe’s largest economy, Sopra Steria have turned to M&A for acceleration. The purchase of Bluecarat sees the firm add 50 employees and €33 million in revenues, but, more importantly, add a range of specialised services and clients with potential for further growth.
Bluecarat provides a range of IT consulting services, spanning digital advisory, cybersecurity, agile working and API management, the majority of which are facing booming demand on the back of the growing need for digital transformation. Its quality of work has been recognised by clients in recent years – German magazine brand eins for instance last year named Bluecarat one of Germany’s top 30 IT consulting firms.
Sopra Steria itself offers a comprehensive suite of services, including consulting, systems integration, software development, infrastructure management and business process services, although its German outfit in some areas trails the maturity of its French and UK business units.
“This acquisition strengthens Sopra Steria’s position in the German market and provides the local subsidiary further growth opportunities and access to major strategic accounts,” the company said in a press statement. The integration of Bluecarat, which was founded in 2001, into Sopra Steria Germany is planned to be completed in the second half of 2018.
The deal marks Sopra Steria’s third major transaction in the space of twelve months. In September last year, the Paris-headquartered group bought Galitt, a specialist in payment systems, while one month prior to that, it bolted-on Swedish consultancy Kentor, which was previously part of Norwegian group TeleComputing.
Other deals completed in recent months in Germany’s consulting landscape include the acquisition of Track Two, a Frankfurt-based asset management consultancy, by UK-headquartered Alpha FMC, and the purchase of the German arm of OC&C Strategy Consultants by Parthenon-EY.
