Capgemini will not increase its mid-2019 takeover bid for Altran Technologies, despite pressure from hedge fund operator Elliott Management for a higher offer, according to Reuters. The proposed buyout price tag is 3.6 billion euros or about $4.1 billion at the time of the offer.
Capgemini is a global IT services company. Altran is an engineering and R&D services firm. Both companies are based in France. A business combination would generate revenues of 17 billion euros and support more than 250,000 employees.
Activist investor Elliott owns about 10 percent of Altran and wants a higher buyout offer. Capgemini expects to win deal approval at the already announced acquisition price. If not, the IT consulting and services giant is prepared to move on and target alternative digital consulting firms for potential acquisition, Capgemini CEO Paul Hermelin indicated to Reuters.
M&A activity remains strong across the IT services market. Companies of all sizes -- global systems integrators, midmarket IT solutions providers and small MSPs -- have been buying each other up to gain digital, cloud services and cybersecurity expertise.
