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The French IT services provider Groupe Sterias has acquired UK-based technology firm Xansa for 472 million. This is sure to give the French service provider a much needed offshoring presence and a healthy foothold in India. Steria has been working on establishing a presence in India where over 5,000 of Xansas 8,000 global employees are based.
India is a very important part of the equation for Steria. Xansa has the most advanced delivery model serving clients in Europe through an integrated UK/India delivery platform. Their significant platform in India is a key part of their success and we are delighted to be in a position to expand using that platform to create a global delivery model, Groupe Steria CEO Francois Enaud said.
Steria had earlier identified developing an enhanced offshore delivery capability as a key strategic area. In 2006, it launched a global sourcing project to build a dedicated delivery capability in India.
The Indian employee base has been a key strategic asset for Xansa. In fact, we were one of the first European companies to set up base in India. The India presence was one of the key reasons behind Steria’s move to acquire Xansa, said a spokesperson for the UK-based firm.
The combined entity post-acquisition would be ranked among the top 10 IT service providers by revenue in the European and UK markets, and is expected to be ranked in the top four in the UK providing IT services to the public sector.
Xansa is one of the largest independent UK-based suppliers of offshore services into the UK market. For the year ended 30 April 2007, Xansa reported revenue of 379.7 million, operating profit of 25.2 million and profit before tax of 16.4 million.
Paris-headquartered Steria is a leading European IT services provider working in the area of public services, finance, telecom, utilities and transport. Steria provides consulting services for its clients’ core business processes, and also develops and operates their information systems.
It has over 10,000 employees working in 15 countries. For the year ended 31 December 2006, Steria reported revenue of euro 1.26 billion, operating profit of euro 81.1 million and profit before tax of euro 77.9 million.
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