NTT Data to be new majority stakeholder in Cirquent
04. August 2008
Munich, Germany, 4th August 2008 – The Japanese company NTT Data Corporation is to be the new majority stakeholder of the Munich-based consulting firm Cirquent. The BMW Group will retain a stake in the firm. With the acquisition of 72.9 per cent of the shares, the Japanese IT group is reinforcing its presence in Europe, while the BMW Group will gain a strong international partner for the subsidiary and, moreover, one that is from the IT sector. Cirquent GmbH, originally Softlab Group, was formed as a new brand at the start of the year. Cooperation with NTT Data opens up new opportunities in respect to Cirquent’s positioning as an international business and IT consulting firm.
“The partnership of NTT Data and BMW opens up new and very interesting strategic options for Cirquent – especially in relation to further internationalisation of our consulting services”, says Peter Broicher, chairman of the Management Board at Cirquent GmbH.
“With this solution, the BMW Group has demonstrated once again that it is a responsible shareholder of our firm. At the same time, the commitment of NTT Data confirms our strategy of developing into a consulting house combining process competence with industry and technology expertise.”
“Cirquent will continue to operate independently in the market”, says Takashi Enomoto, senior executive vice president of NTT Data. “NTT Data views the expansion of its international presence as a strategic objective. That is why it is important to us that we actively support the growth of Cirquent.”
The consulting firm Cirquent emerged from the former Softlab Group at the beginning of 2008. The new, uniform brand also symbolises its successful positioning as a consulting firm. Offering consulting services in core industry sectors, namely financial services, insurance, manufacturing and telecommunications, the Munich-based firm managed to steadily gain market share in the last few years.
In 2007, Cirquent once again appeared among the top 10 German companies for IT consulting, software development and systems integration, ranking in 7th position (source: Lünendonk list). The firm currently employs around 1,800 people.
The new investor NTT Data is a powerful, internationally-aligned partner with core competencies in the IT sector. The Japanese group, with its head office in Tokyo, is a listed subsidiary of the Japanese Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. With more than 22,600 employees worldwide, it last generated an annual turnover of around seven billion euros.
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About NTT Data
NTT Data is a quoted subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). It offers a broad range of IT services including consulting, systems integration and IT outsourcing. NTT Data, which was ranked 15th position in IT services market, has about 23,000 employees and posted total revenues of over JPY 1 trillion (Euro 7.0 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2008. Since 2005, NTT Data has taken various steps to develop the international business, including the acquisition of the Revere Group in the US, the Shenzhen East Net Co., Ltd. in China and Vertex Software Pvt. Ltd. in India. In January 2008, NTT Data acquired a majority stake in German itelligence AG, one of the leading international full-service providers for solutions in the SAP environment. NTT Data has been actively pursuing IT partnership strategy for IT innovation with client companies to progressively expand the customer base and acquire development resources. For more information visit the NTT Data website: http://www.nttdata.co.jp/en/.
Cirquent GmbH
Cirquent offers first-class consulting throughout the entire value added chain for banks, insurance companies, telecommunications and manufacturing companies. The services portfolio of the consulting company includes: industry-oriented strategy and process consulting; conceptual design; integration and implementation of individual solutions aimed to support business processes as well as the operation and maintenance of IT systems. Cirquent offers first-class competences in industry-specific processes, methods and technologies – in the areas of customer management, contact centres, finance transformation and application management. Cirquent’s goal is to deliver solutions tailored to the individual requirements of customers, to achieve more efficient business processes, increased business success and reduced costs. The high quality of its consultancy and more than 35 years’ experience has made Cirquent a valued partner of such leading companies as BMW Group, Deutsche Börse, Provident Financial Management Services and T-Mobile UK.
Based on its strong foundations and successful acquisition strategy, Cirquent, formerly the Softlab, has established itself as one of today’s leading German consultancy companies, as reflected in its ranking in the top ten of the Lünendonk List 2007. Headquartered in Munich, Cirquent operates out of five locations in Germany, and also has offices in the UK, Austria and Switzerland. In 2007, with 1800 employees, the company generated sales of €286 million.
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