Capgemini buys Australian IT consultancy Empired for $233 million
Capgemini is on the verge of acquiring Empired, an Australian system integrator with more than 1,000 professionals across Australia and New Zealand.
The global IT giant announced the deal early this morning, and is pending approval by shareholders and custom closing conditions. Once green light is achieved, the French will pay A$233 million for Empired, and add around A$188 million to its revenue in the region.
Founded in 1999, Empired specialises in cloud and data implementations and managed services, supporting broader digital transformation strategies of its clients. The firm focuses on Microsoft technology and is particularly known for its end-to-end expertise in Microsoft Azure and Dynamics 365.
“Capgemini’s extensive transformation expertise combined with Empired’s strengths as a leader in Microsoft Azure and Dynamics 365 will open up the full power of digital transformation for our clients in Australia and New Zealand, to run their entire business in the cloud and realize value faster. We look forward to welcoming them to our team,” said Olaf Pietschner, CEO for Capgemini in Asia Pacific.
The deal comes at a time of booming demand, with one report by Boston Consulting Group finding that Australia’s public cloud market will surpass the AU$10 billion mark by as early as 2023, up from AU$5 billion three years ago. This trend is in turn fuelling a wave of acquisitions in the cloud segment, globally as well as domestically.
In Australia, Accenture recently purchased two cloud specialists (CS Technology and Industrie&Co), and Capgemini itself this year bolted-on a firm (Acclimation) that specialises in cloud-based SAP solutions. “Enterprises are at an inflection point in their cloud adoption,” said Pietschner.
The deal, which is Capgemini’s fourth in the country in the past 18 months, will in addition provide the Paris-listed group a major boost in the New Zealand market. With offices in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, Empired generates about a third of its business in New Zealand. In Australia, Western Australia-headquartered Empired has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.
According to Kaylene O’Brien, managing director for Capgemini A/NZ, the deal will position Capgemini as “the market leader in digital, data and cloud across the region.”
Meanwhile, for Empired, joining forces with global player Capgemini will “provide outstanding career opportunities for our people and have a positive impact for existing and prospective clients by providing them with access to the significant resources, service capabilities and international experience of Capgemini,” said Empired’s Managing Director, Russell Baskerville.
