The agreement provides for EDB to take over Capgemini's central and distributed Infrastructure Management activities for some 140 customers in total. The customers to be transferred are principally in transportation, shipping and industry. EDB expects that the business acquired will generate operating revenue of around NOK 330 million in 2005, with Sweden accounting for NOK 250 million of the total and Norway NOK 80 million. Around 14,000 workstations, 4,000 servers and supplementing competence in amongst others the area of SAP-operations will be transferred to EDB.

 

The agreement also provides for expanded but non-exclusive collaboration between EDB and Capgemini. The companies already have a number of joint customers in Sweden, notably in the transportation sector, and this will increase significantly as a result of the transaction. The collaboration intends to strengthen both companies positions in both the Swedish and Norwegian markets. The collaboration between EDB and Capgemini is expected to create synergy benefits, both for the two companies and respective customers.

This transaction significantly strengthens EDB's position in the Swedish market, and means that EDB will have doubled the scale of its activities in Sweden over the course of 2004. For Capgemini the transaction represents a greater focus for its outsourcing activities.

 

"This is a very important transaction for EDB in strategic, market and commercial terms", comments Endre Rangnes, CEO of EDB. "Our ambition is to be the leading regional player for IT outsourcing in the Nordic market. We are already the largest player in the Norwegian market, and are now stepping up to be the sixth largest player in Sweden. The agreement with Capgemini gives us a new platform to achieve our ambitions for further growth in the Swedish market", explains Endre Rangnes.

 

Capgemini will now concentrate on consulting-intensive services such as Applications Management, outsourcing and transformation services, as well as business process outsourcing (BPO), in order to realise synergies with the company's consulting activities in the areas of IT and management.

 

"Together with EDB we can offer integrated total solutions which customers will find very attractive. By combining our market-leading position for Applications Management and EDB's strength in Infrastructure Management, we can offer the market more than either Capgemini or EDB could achieve alone", comments Henrik Sund, Head of Capgemini's Nordic Outsourcing Services.

 

Under the terms of the agreement, around 320 Capgemini employees will move to EDB, of which around 230 are based in Sweden and around 90 in Norway. The activities acquired are mostly located in Stockholm, Örebro and Oslo. EDB will co-ordinate and integrate the business taken over from Capgemini with its current activities. Integrating the activities will lead to synergy benefits in terms of premises, technology and personnel. This is expected to lead to a reduction in headcount in EDB's Swedish operation, but no reduction is envisaged for EDB's employees in Norway.

 

EDB has agreed to pay approximately NOK 185 million for the business acquired. NOK 165 million will be paid upon closing, the remainder will be paid over the course of the first six months of 2005. The final purchase price will depend on the volume of expected additional turnover generated during the transition period, and the amount will be determined after the first six months of 2005. EDB will make provisions of NOK 25 million for further restructuring. EDB will finance the purchase by drawing on its existing credit facilities and expects the business taken over to generate profitability in line with the group's current operating profit margins.

 

The agreements are between EDB Drift AB, EDB IT Drift AS, Capgemini Sverige AB and Capgemini Norge AS and are expected to be implemented with effect from 31 December 2004. The transaction is conditional on approval by the competition authorities in both Norway and Sweden. Final balance sheet effects for EDB will depend on date of implementation, and EDB will give information on potential changes in connection with the presentation of the fourth quarter results at the latest.

Enquiries may be addressed to:
Henrik Sund, head of Nordic Outsourcing Services, Capgemini. Tel: +46 8 5368 5003

Malou Sjörin, head of PR, Capgemini. Tel: +46 8 5368 4240

Reidar Gjærum, Executive Vice President, EDB Business Partner. Tel: +47 908 55 101