Logica acquires French foothold through Axime
IT consultancy Logica has acquired the French, Belgian and Luxembourg operations of Axime Ingenierie, formerly part of the systems integration and professional services division of Groupe Axime, for Fr161m (#18.4m).
Logica’s finance director Andrew Given said the firm had made no secret of its plans for selective acquisitions in new markets. He said: “France has been conspicuous by its absence. We are looking to grow the firm at a rate commensurate with Logica’s, around 14 per cent last year.”
Axime Ingenierie, which has over 1,000 employees and offices in 15 cities across France, reported revenues for Fr360m (#41m) at the end of June 1996. The firm recorded an operating loss of Fr0.5m (#0.06m) after taking into account various group charges and exceptional costs. Based in Paris, the firm will trade as Logica SA.
Given downplayed its likely contribution to Logica’s revenues this year:
“Axime will make a small contribution to Logica’s revenue this year, but we are not looking to get carried away as to the impact for Logica over the next year. We see our operation in the medium-term as developing our presence in the French market.”
Given said it planned to make investments in data warehousing-type systems:
“Customer care systems are a serious possibility for us. These are the type of systems insurers use when you call for a quote that display all your personal details, or billing systems that give telecommunications companies a detailed breakdown of usage patterns.”
