Sopra Group banking on Delta for growth in international financial services sector
Paris, France – September 9, 2011 — Sopra Group and Four Js ISV Delta announced a merger plan under which Sopra Group will acquire Delta. The merger, subject to regulatory approvals, should be finalized in early October 2011.
Delta’s activities will be integrated with Evolan, Sopra Group’s banking division, to provide a complete ‘Global Banking’ solution.
“This acquisition will serve Sopra Group’s strategic plan to position Evolan as a leading software provider to banks around the world. It will serve to facilitate their transformation projects,” says Jean-Paul Bourbon, director of Financial Services, Sopra Group.
Delta publishes Delta Bank – a suite of retail banking solutions developed in Genero – deployed in over forty countries. Delta Bank has been chosen by several large banking groups to equip all of their international subsidiaries. In 2010, Delta achieved revenues of 33.5 million euros with 90% in international markets.
“This merger secures Delta’s customers strategic investment.” adds Claude Delage, CEO and founder of Delta. “Sopra’s market presence enables us to accelerate our growth and enhance Evolan’s margins. It also enables our customers to have access to a broader range of solutions covering the full spectrum of banking information systems.”
Sopra Group has been present in France for more than 30 years through its Evolan division and achieves 25% of its 1.169 Bn euros in annual revenues in the banking sector.
About Sopra Group
Founded in January 1968 by Pierre Pasquier, Léo Gantelet and François Odin, Sopra Group is one of Europe’s longest established IT services companies.
From the outset, Sopra Group positioned itself in all of the IT services sectors and soon became a key player in the French market.
In 1990, Sopra Group was successfully listed on the Paris Bourse. Prior to this initial public offering, a first share subscription option plan was set in place for the vast majority of employees. From that time on, Sopra Group has maintained a balance between organic growth and growth through acquisition.
The most significant acquisitions
France
- In 1996, Sopra Group acquired SG2 Ingénierie, bringing Société Générale into the group’s capital as well as adding 650 members to its workforce. This influx of personnel considerably strengthened the Company’s presence in Paris, the French provinces and Belgium;
- in 2000, Sopra Group acquired Orga Consultants, which specialises in strategy, management and organisational consulting, and has a workforce of 200. This acquisition enabled Sopra Group to develop a high-level consulting business;
- in December 2003, Sopra Group acquired Inforsud Ingénierie from Crédit Agricole. This acquisition reaffirmed Sopra Group’s dominant position in the banking sector and solidified its uncontested leadership in lending management and smartcard technologies;
- in July 2004, Sopra Group acquired Valoris, a European consulting and IT services company employing a staff of nearly 500. Its offer of services ranges from strategy consulting to the management of IT architectures. Valoris is a market leader in the following areas: Business Intelligence (BI), Client Relationship Management (CRM), Portals and Content Management.
Sopra Group has expanded through acquisitions and is firmly focused on becoming a European leader in systems integration:
Europe
- after having opened its first international office in Switzerland and having obtained, with the acquisition of SG2 in 1996, its equivalent in Belgium, between 1999 and 2001 Sopra Group’s international network began to take shape, with the acquisitions of Mentor in the United Kingdom, Organizacion Guver, Dipisa, Newpath Consulting and Newpath GS in Spain, and ITI SpA in Italy;
- in 2005, Sopra Group accelerated its development in the United Kingdom and Spain:
- by the acquisition of Newell & Budge in the United Kingdom as well as its Irish and Indian subsidiaries. The market leader in Scotland, supported by a staff of over 600 (including more than 100 employees of the India-based subsidiary Momentum Technologies), this company provides a complete range of consultancy, delivery and support services;
As the positioning of Newell & Budge complements that of Sopra Group in the United Kingdom, the combined entity benefits from complete geographic coverage of this market, a highly skilled and experienced workforce and a strengthened client base, particularly in the financial services, public sector and telecoms verticals, - by the acquisition of PROFit SA, based in Spain and Portugal, which offers its blue chip clients a full range of IT services, encompassing consulting as well as the implementation of solutions and applications outsourcing services. PROFit has developed its value-added offerings in the banking, energy, telecoms and public sector verticals.
As the positioning of PROFit complements that of Sopra Group Group in Spain, the combined entity benefits from complete geographic coverage of this market (Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Valencia, Vitoria) and Portugal (with a presence in Lisbon), a highly skilled and experienced workforce and a strengthened client base, particularly in the financial services, telecoms, public sector and retail verticals.
- by the acquisition of Newell & Budge in the United Kingdom as well as its Irish and Indian subsidiaries. The market leader in Scotland, supported by a staff of over 600 (including more than 100 employees of the India-based subsidiary Momentum Technologies), this company provides a complete range of consultancy, delivery and support services;
Axway Software
In 2001, the Group decided to make inroads into the Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) market with a view to becoming a global publisher on this market.
It then set up Axway Software (400 employees and total sales of €50 million) by the contribution of the Group’s entire EAI business.
The Group then made a series of acquisitions to reinforce the positioning of Axway worldwide:
- in 2002, the Group acquired the integration business of Viewlocity Inc, beginning with Europe and then in Asia and the United States.
- in early 2006, the Group acquired Cyclone Commerce in the United States, making Axway world leader in B2B, SOA and on the collaborative services market;
- in early 2007, the Group acquired the B2B software business of Atos Origin in Germany. This acquisition made Axway the undisputed European leader in B2B software platforms and significantly reinforced its presence in Germany;
- in September 2008, the Group acquired Tumbleweed Communications Corp., reinforcing positions in the B2B/file transfer market while delivering a significant boost to Axway’s North American sales.
In 2011, in view of the specific nature of the activities of Axway, now a leading publisher worldwide in the fields of Business Interaction Networks, the Group decided to separate the activities of Axway from those of Sopra Group. Axway is to go public on 14 June 2011, with Sopra Group retaining 26.5% of the capital.
Sopra Group is now one of the leading French Groups in Consulting and Systems Integration and Solutions, with significant presence in the banking and insurance sectors, an extensive regional footprint in France and carefully managed international development.
