Computacenter in talks to snap up €118m BT France services business

Computacenter has entered exclusive negotiations to buy up BT France's domestic services business, for an acquisition that is expected to take place in the latter half of 2020.

In a London Stock Exchange filing, the UK-headquartered reseller said the acquisition will enable Computacenter to strengthen its position in the French networking market.

"The current coronavirus pandemic shows the importance of secure and reliable networks to our customers and this deal would significantly strengthen our existing French business in this growth area," CEO of Computacenter Group, Mike Norris, said.

"It would bring our customer offering in France closer to the broader portfolio in our larger European markets."

BT France is an IT network infrastructure services business that logged revenues of €118m in its fiscal year, ending March 2019.

Meanwhile, Computacenter's revenues in France totalled €644.7m in its FY2019.

The current negotiations are subject to consultations with works councils over a minimum of two months, plus any additional French Government guidance issued as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The planned transaction is part of BT's ongoing divestment strategy to streamline the telco behemoth's global unit, as it pivots to next-generation networking, cloud and security.

Three months ago it sold its Spanish division to a local PE firm.

"With this agreement we are close to reaching another milestone in the execution of our strategy to make BT Global a more agile business focused on the growing requirements of our multinational customers," CEO of Global BT, Bas Burger, said.

BT France would retain its access points infrastructure and a cyber security operations centre in the country.

Computacenter also intends to enter into a partnership agreement in France with BT, ensuring continuity for existing customers.

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• Mergers & Acquisitions