Capgemini Acquiring Altran In Massive $4.1B Engineering, R&D Play

Capgemini, already the world's fourth largest IT services company, is expanding its digital transformation, cloud, IoT, AI, and 5G capabilities with its planned blockbuster acquisition of Altran.

Capgemini, the global consulting, IT services, and digital transformation powerhouse, on Monday said it plans to acquire Altran, a leading provider of engineering and R&D services, in a massive deal worth 3.6 billion euros, or $4.1 billion at Monday's exchange rate.

The deal, which is slated to close by the end of the year, is aimed at making Capgemini a leader in providing digital transformation services, or "intelligent industry," to customers, said Paul Hermelin, chairman and CEO of Paris-based Capgemini, in a prepared statement.

"The complementarity and power of our combined business and technological expertise are truly outstanding assets. By joining forces, we are positioning ourselves as a clear strategic partner to assist our clients in taking full advantage of the revolution created by the developments of the cloud, Edge computing, IoT, artificial intelligence and 5G," Hermelin said in the statement.

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Both Capgemini and Altran were unable to respond to a CRN request for further information by press time.

The acquisition is the second massive channel-focused acquisition unveiled Monday. The day also saw U.S.-based channel powerhouse Insight Enterprises unveil a massive plan to acquire PCM Inc.

Capgemini, which in fiscal 2018 generated revenue of 13.2 billion euros, or just over $15 billion, is ranked number 7 on the CRN 2019 Solution Provider 500 list. The company has over 200,000 employees, and is focused on cloud, digital, and platform solutions.

Altran, also based in Paris, in 2018 generated revenue of about 2.9 billion euros, or about $3.3 billion, with nearly 47,000 employees. The company provides engineering and R&D services to customers in a wide range of industries. Altran in late 2017 acquired Aricent, making it a leading provider of design and engineering services with expertise in expertise in semiconductors, digital experience, and design innovation.

The combined company will be a world leader in consulting and IT, as well as in engineering and R&D services, with major plays in information technology, which has been Capgemini's primary focus, and operations technology, which as been Altran's primary focus, according to a Capgemini investor presentation.

Once combined, the two are expected to have 54,000-plus employees focused in engineering and R&D, including over 21,000 employees in global engineering centers. Capgemini, in its presentation, said it will be the number one provider in engineering and R&D services in the aeronautics and defense, semiconductor and electronics, and telecom sectors, and will be in the top 5 providers of those services to the automotive industry.

About 31 percent of the combined company's revenue comes from North America.