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Steria buys UK rival Xansa to build Indian presence
 
 French IT service
provider Steria is to
buy British rival Xansa
plc for around £472m
($960m) in cash, in an
offer that is 69.9%
above Xansa's closing
price of 76.5p a share
on 26 July, the day
before Xansa disclosed
it was "in advanced
talks regarding a
possible offer" with an
unidentified party.
   Steria has been
working on establishing
a presence in India
where 62% of Xansa's
total workforce are
based. The acquisition
will give it a strong
foothold in the
sub-continent and a
significant offshoring
presence. 		 
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 bidding for the company.
Early rumours centred on
Capgemini, but many
believed it was an
Indian company, with
Infosys, Wipro, and Tata
the most likely
candidates.
   Xansa's business is
founded on its
application outsourcing
services, but in recent
years the company has
branched out into
business process
outsourcing, winning
high-profile deals with
the BBC, Lloyds TSB, and
the UK National Health
Service.
   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 £379.7m,
operating profit of
£25.2m and profit before
tax of £16.4m.
   The combined entity,
post-acquisition, would
be ranked among the top
10 IT service providers
by revenue in the
European and UK markets
with a proforma combined
revenue of around €1.8bn
($2.46bn) and operating
profit of €170m It is
expected to be ranked in
the top four in the UK
providing IT services to
the public sector.
   The acquisition, due
to close in mid-October,
is expected to deliver
total pre-tax savings of
around €24m in 2008,		 
 €49m in 2009 and €53m
from 2010 onwards. The
costs to achieve these
savings are estimated at
around €49m over two
years.
   Steria also reported
an operating margin of
6.3% for the first-half
of 2007, unchanged from
the year-ago, on sales
of €647.9m, up 6.7%.
   The acquisition of
Xansa follows Steria's
purchases of Germany's
Mummert in 2005 and
France's Integris in
2002. It has more than
10,000 employees working
in 15 countries.
  
   		 
    Xansa has often been
touted as a potential
takeover target in
recent months, largely
due to its strong
presence in India. At
the end of April, the
company had just over
5,000 people based
there.
   Even before it
announced that it was in
takeover talks,
speculation was rife
about who might be		 
 
Navigant Consulting acquires Troika
 
 Navigant Consulting, a
global consulting firm
providing operational,
dispute, investigative,
risk management and
financial advisory
solutions, has signed an
agreement to acquire
Troika (UK) Ltd, a
leading UK financial
services consultancy.
   Troika provides
consultancy services to
the financial services
industry covering
operations performance
improvement; product and
distribution strategies;
organisation, people and
change; IT effectiveness
and transaction support.
Troika's UK clients
include 13 of the top 15
life & pension
companies, nine of the		 
 top 15 banks and
building societies and
ten of the top 15
investment management
firms. In 2006, Troika
was the UK Management
Consultancy
Association's "Best
Small Management
Consultancy of the
Year".
   "Navigant continues
to expand on a global
scale," said Don Harvey,
Navigant Consulting
managing director of
European operations. "We
expect London to be the
key centre for the
international financial
services markets over
the next several years.
Joining forces with
Troika enhances our
ability to be a leading		 
 player in this market,
and to provide a
targeted range of
business enhancing
services." Following the
acquisition, Navigant
Consulting in the UK
represents more than 225
professionals with
experience in providing
clients with strategic,
performance, risk
management, financial
and dispute management
advice.
   "I am delighted that
in Navigant we have
found a partner who
shares our belief in the
value of independent
thinking, born out of
industry experience,
creativity and
practicality," said
Andrew Stewart, managing		 
 director of Troika.
"Together we can
continue to redefine the
delivery of professional
services, bringing
enhanced offerings to
Troika's client base in
UK financial services as
well as Navigant clients
around the world."
   David Kay, managing
director of Navigant
Consulting's financial
services practice,
added: "Troika offers
our financial services
practice several
exciting strategic
advantages and they
represent an excellent
platform for us to
further our financial
services consulting
business in one of the
largest financial		 
 markets in the world.
The Troika team provides
us with the ability to
leverage their skills
and services into the US
and European markets.
They have exceptional
consulting capabilities,
management skills and
client relationships
that represent a
valuable addition to our
expanding financial
services practice."
   Troika was founded in
1998 by Andrew Stewart,
Neil Mayall and Richard
Vale. The Troika team is
based in London and
includes more than 40
billable consultants.
  
  
   		 
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