By the OGJ Online Staff
LONDON, Feb. 12�Schlumberger Ltd. said Monday it will acquire Anglo-French IT service group Sema PLC, in an all cash deal valued at $5.2 billion.
Euan Baird, chairman and CEO of Schlumberger, said the Sema acquisition, under negotiation for 9 months, would "enable (Schlumberger) to accelerate significantly (its) existing information technology strategy."
The takeover, he said, "will enhance our capabilities and critical mass in systems integration, widen our IT skills and create revenue synergies in many of our core competencies."
Schlumberger expects to complete the transaction, under which the company is to pay 560 pence per Sema share, in the second quarter.
Both Baird and Pierre Bonelli, Sema's CEO, said the firms would mesh well.
Baird said, "I am confident that the excellent personal relationships which we have developed with senior Sema management and strong cultural fit between our organizations will facilitate the integration and subsequent growth of Sema within the Schlumberger group"
Baird said acquiring Sema builds on the strategic belief at Schlumberger "that the winners in the Internet age will be companies with excellent products and market shares in specific verticals that are able to substantially enhance their business models with these new technologies."
He said Sema provides the "competencies" Schlumberger needs "to continue to add strong IT technology, systems integration and consulting competencies on a global scale to both accelerate the growth in our core vertical markets and to establish ourselves as a leading information solutions provider in those core vertical markets."
