Ericsson to Acquire IT Services Capabilities from Devoteam in France

Ericsson announces its intention to acquire Devoteam Telecom & Media operations in France. Devoteam is a leader in Information and Communications Technology consulting with 5000 employees in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The completion of the acquisition is subject to consultation and customary closing conditions. It is expected to take place by the beginning of Q2, 2013.

The deal will see 400 skilled, France-based, IT services professionals join Ericsson. It includes also the acquisition of TV SmartVision operations.

Devoteam Telecom & Media's main competences are in the areas of consulting and systems integration for operations and business support systems, service delivery platforms and applications, IP Multimedia Subsystems, IP and radio networks and TV. The acquisition complements Ericsson's existing strengths in these fields, both in the operator and media segments.

The acquisition is in line with Ericsson's services strategy to broaden its IT capabilities.

"Acquiring activities of Devoteam adds unique expertise in complex, strategic and technical consulting engagements that will enable us to immediately enhance the value that we bring to our customers," says Magnus Mandersson, Ericsson's Executive Vice President and Head of Business Unit Global Services. "It is further proof of Ericsson's commitment to act as the partner of choice for the business transformation currently taking place within the telecommunications industry."

Derek Nutley, Telecoms Director at Devoteam declared: "This transaction fits with Devoteam's 2015 strategic plan. It will allow us to focus more on innovation around the Devoteam's value proposition. Ericsson is a key business partner of Devoteam - notably in UK and Mediterranean countries - and we hope that this transaction will further strengthen our relationship. I am convinced that the teams of Devoteam Telecom & Media in France will benefit from Ericsson's end-to-end know-how, scale and global presence."

To enable customers to transform their operations and IT environments and to improve the user experience, increase efficiency and enable service innovation, Ericsson offers a combination of strong services capabilities and a comprehensive software portfolio. Ericsson has 12,000 consulting and systems integration professionals who deliver more than 1,500 consulting, systems integration and learning services projects in multivendor and multi-technology environments each year.