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Sema in Accord With BroadVision; Sees $500 Mln in Acquisitions
London, Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Sema Group Plc, Europe's second-largest computer services company, said it formed an alliance with Internet software company BroadVision Inc. and plans to buy up to five companies worth about $100 million each.
The Anglo-French company said it will work with BroadVision, based in Redwood City, California, to offer systems to telecommunications companies that allow customers to pay bills and buy services through the World Wide Web. Sema also said it plans to buy companies in the U.K., France and Scandinavia this year to improve its technology and increase market share in billing and outsourcing.
Sema, which recently won a high-profile computer support contract for the Olympic games, replacing International Business Machines Corp., is building up its offering for the telecommunications industry -- its biggest source of first-half revenue. Sema said its BroadVision alliance is a prelude to a planned $1 billion U.S. acquisition this year. ''The key here is getting access to the U.S. and its first play into the e-commerce world,'' said George O'Connor, a technology analyst at Granville Plc.
Sema, which declined to comment on the value of the alliance, said the systems developed through the alliance will be available in the second quarter for customers such as AT&T Corp., MCI WorldCom Inc. and British Telecommunications Plc.
Smart Cards
Sema is looking to buy companies involved in ''smart card'' technologies in the U.K. and Australia, banking in France and credit card use in Scandinavia, he said.
The BroadVision alliance gives Sema use of its technology and makes Sema BroadVision's preferred ''systems integrator'' worldwide.
U.K. and French operations account for 60 percent of Sema's revenue. Only 4 percent of its sales are in the key U.S. market, a situation the company is trying to change under the leadership of Pierre Bonelli, its chief executive, who has said he is willing to pay as much as $1 billion for a U.S. company.
The company's clients include France Telecom SA, which owns 22.5 percent of Sema, and Paribas SA, which owns 14.1 percent. Other clients include Abbey National Plc, Standard Chartered Bank and the Department of Social Security in the U.K., Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB in Sweden and Societe Generale and Credit Lyonnais in France.
Sema's shares rose as much as 28 pence, or 4.6 percent, to 628p. They recently traded at 622p. In Paris, its shares rose 0.56 euro, or 6.45 percent, to 9.24 euros and recently traded at 9.10.
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