November 16 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian software developer Sirma Group Holding [BUL:SGH] said on Tuesday that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 80% of local peer Sciant after it was granted regulatory clearance on the deal.
The acquired stake represents a total of 200,000 shares in the capital of Sciant, Sirma Group Holding said in a bourse filing.
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The contract includes an option for the subsequent acquisition on April 1, 2024 of the remaining 20% in Sciant that Sirma Group Holding does not own, the bourse filing read.
The acquisition is line with the development strategy of Sirma Group Holding and is expected to facilitate the group’s entry into new vertical markets and geographies, while Sciant would benefit from accelerated growth and investment into high customer demand business lines, such as managed services and bespoke software as a service (Saa), the buyer said in a statement on Tuesday.
"While Sciant will operate as an independent subsidiary, joining Sirma Group Holding enhances our capability to support our customers and deliver quality solutions by gaining access to additional resources, including additional financing and a larger talent pool,” said Angel Mitev, joint-CEO of Sciant.
Sofia-headquartered Sciant, founded in 2016, is an IT solutions development partner serving specific industry sectors including travel and hospitality, logistics and transport, finance and banking. The company develops technical solutions including big data and business intelligence, machine learning, and forms robust and compliant integrations and interfaces, for new digital platforms and legacy systems. Sciant also has offices in Bulgaria's Plovdiv and Yambol, as well as Tirana in Albania and Olomouc in the Czech Republic.
Sofia-based Sirma Group Holding, established in 1992, is one of the largest privately-owned Bulgarian IT groups. Sirma specialises in IT technologies and software development, implementation, and system integration. The company accomplished a successful initial public offering in 2015 and was listed on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE).
As at 15:43 CET on Tuesday, shares in Sirma Group Holding traded 5.46% lower at a price of 0.45 levs ($0.26/0.23 euro) on the floor of the Sofia bourse.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)