Siconet provides IT consulting, software development, security and systems integration services to customers operating in five vertical markets, including insurance, banking, aerospace, transport and telecommunications. The company has about 400 employees located in Madrid and Barcelona and reported revenue of 17.8m euros ($23.9m) in 2006.
On completion of the acquisition, Bull expects its revenue in Spain to exceed 100m euros ($134.5m). In 2006, Bull Spain recorded sales of 82m euros ($110.3m), with some 34m euros ($45.7m) derived from services, support and maintenance operations.
Under Bull’s ‘Horizon 2008’ strategy, announced last year, Bull is aiming to make IT services its major source of revenue. In the first quarter of 2007, services sales grew 4.6% to 83.3m euros ($112.0m), while product sales fell 10.4% to 105.1m euros ($141.3m).
Bull Portugal, which will be bought by GFI for an undisclosed sum, provides electronic payment applications and services to a number of large banks and financial institutions. While Bull did not reveal the size of the business, GFI said earlier this month that it was in talks to acquire a then-unnamed Portuguese operation with annual revenue of 11m euros ($14.8m).
Bull CEO Didier Lamouche said that the Portuguese business was no longer aligned with the strategic priorities of the group. The company’s exit from the region comes six months after the company sold its Italian operation to Eunics.