Fujitsu AU boosts services portfolio with Atos buyout
A spokesperson for Fujitsu Australia said 150 local Atos Origin staff -- primarily based in Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle -- will come under the Fujitsu banner after the acquisition deal documentation was signed yesterday.
The spokesperson declined to comment on the purchase price, saying Fujitsu Australia had signed a non-disclosure agreement with Atos Origin's Paris-based management.
Fujitsu Australia's chief executive officer, Rod Vawdrey, said the acquisition represented the next phase of the company's campaign to be seen as the preferred technology partner for enterprises that use information technology to drive business transformation.
The acquisition includes Atos' Melbourne-based data centre, which specialises in the delivery of managed business application services.
Atos Origin Australia's managing director, Jean-Pierre Deruddere is to join Fujitsu as executive general manager, enterprise solutions, reporting directly to Vawdrey.
Vawdrey told ZDNet Australia the seeds of the deal were sown around six months ago when Fujitsu did an analysis of the market and its own capabilities and realised it needed to boost its expertise in the enterprise resource planning arena. At around the same time Atos had, Vawdrey said, decided to concentrate its business in Europe. The acquisition was therefore a natural fit that filled a strategic gap for Fujitsu.
The deal also includes an alliance whereby Fujitsu will service Atos' global customers who have operations in this part of the world.
Vawdrey said the deal would add 10 percent -- or AU$30 million -- to Fujitsu Australia's services revenues.