Douglas Hayward
TietoEnator buys UK's AttentiV Systems
TietoEnator has made a £46.6m cash offer for financial services specialist AttentiV Systems Group. AttentiV, formerly Lynx Financial Systems, posted FY 2004 revenues of £32.1m and operating margin of 10%. This is Tieto's second UK acquisition within a few days. Last week, it bought Pentec, a UK-based provider of IT solutions for the paper and corrugated board industry. The deals give Tieto a permanent presence in the UK, where it had revenues of just €7.1m last year (down 13% on 2003). Tieto says the AttentiV acquisition should enhance its EPS during 2005. It plans to merge AttentiV's software products into its portfolio. Comment: TietoEnator is about to get better known in the UK, now that it's got a permanent presence there. Could it strike again in the UK? Sure, but it will probably buy a specialist in finance, telecomm or forestry. Tieto's model is to use software packages to get its foot in the door of big clients (it describes vertical software packages as its "spearhead"), and then to sell them outsourcing services, chiefly application management and development. It targets finance and telecoms. If you are LogicaCMG, this operating model might sound strangely familiar. Tieto, the "local hero" in the Nordics, is now building a presence in its UK equivalent's back yard. AttentiV may not be big, but it's a foot in the door.
