Dutch IT provider Ordina agrees to an all-cash public offer from Sopra Steria

France’s Sopra Steria, a consulting, digital services, and software development provider, is set to acquire Dutch IT provider and system integrator Ordina for approximately 518 million euros. The deal is expected to conclude in H2 2023 with Ordina’s CEO Jo Maes leading operations in the Benelux region

Ordina’s activities reside within the Benelux and is an attractive investment for Sopra Steria as the Dutch provider generated 429.4 million euros in FY2022 (+9% compared to FY21). While the bulk of its revenues derives from its home market in the Netherlands (+9.3% growth in 2022), BeLux continues to show promising opportunities (+8.9% growth in FY22) thanks to rising demand for Ordina’s high-performance teams, data acceleration, and cybersecurity & compliance capabilities.

With the acquisition, Sopra Steria sends a strong signal to the Benelux market as it already acquired Belgian-based digital consultancy and services company Tobania (98 million euro revenue in 2021) in November 2022. Tobania has a strong foothold in the financial services sector (banking & insurance), the public sector, and telecommunications. Combined, Sopra Steria would go to market in the region with over 4,300 IT experts and consultants, creating a real powerhouse to rival some of the most prominent players, including Capgemini, NRB, Cegeka, KPN, and CGI, to name a few. Overall, the acquisition contributes to Sopra Steria’s European expansion strategy, increasing its presence in key, high-growth markets.

For Sopra Steria, it gets access to domain expertise and contextual knowledge (e.g., high-performance teams, business platforms and cloud expertise, cyber capabilities and more), but also a wide variety of new clients, including central and local governments (e.g., Ministries of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) , the Municipality of the Hague) and businesses including Rabobank, Schiphol Airport, Royal Flora Holland, ProRail, to name a few.

For Ordina, it now has the backing of a large organization with strong competencies in consulting, software solutions, technological partnerships, domain expertise in financial services, aerospace, central government and defense, and native speakers. Ordina has been keen to increase its market share in Belgium’s French-speaking regions, such as Wallonia, but struggled over the years due to a lack of local talent and language barriers.

Overall, PAC believes that both parties will benefit from each other’s strengths and form a united front capable of rivaling even the most prominent players in the region.