It will be more than time to put the cap on Asia

Like men, many companies need to seek out what makes them grow, even take all the risk. Some occasional, more systematically. It is this last category of adventurers that belong the "serial buyers", those who have scientifically theorized their practice, to point to a lever essential to their strategy service. The United States, General Electric and Cisco are this tempering. They were able to avoid poorly that have tripped most predators apprentices, since, according to experts, 50 to 80 of the mergers and acquisitions resulted in a failure in terms of value creation.

In France, the master acknowledged this exercise of haute voltige is Atos Origin. In nearly ten years of shopping, the computer services company has increased its size by almost six, becoming a European giant in the field. With a talent in the integration that allowed him to go still further, stronger: in 2000, the absorption of Origin, the computer ex-division of Philips almost as big as she did, in 2002, the firm of consultants KPMG and, in 2004, the former champion Sema.

But today, the Forum seems broken. A severe pépin on the British market and growth is no longer the appointment. Suddenly, the engine of the acquisitions is more powered by fuel, rising on the stock market course to buy companies with good balance. Within six months, the company from the status of predator to prey, surrounded by large operators, computer scientists and now must fund of "private equity".

Is this already the end of the story for the company and its unavoidable boss Bernard Bourigeaud, the real author of this original strategy In any case is an illustration of the benefits and disadvantages of such an approach.

Born in 1997 of the reconciliation of two computer subsidiaries of banking groups, Axime and Sligos, themselves having largely restructured the landscape of the French computer service in the 1990s, Atos is in his DNA growth through acquisitions. As most of its competitors, the group is satisfied that, in this business, linked to the evolution of one of his clients, there is no place for the provok. If corporations outsource more in addition to tasks in the SSII, they require in return that they can accompany them around where they are located. Hence the birth of society behemoths such as IBM and Accenture can manage it and pay a bank or a car manufacturer on five continents.

A system integrators such as Atos strategy must, therefore, to deploy in two directions: acquire the skills and develop the main European countries. Skills are essential to be present on three complementary professions of it: the Council, which gives expertise trade, integration of system (installation and maintenance of software) for the computer expertise and outsourcing (management of the client computer) to the security of its recurring revenues.

Little present in the Council, has therefore developed the hand on the consultants of KPMG. And to succeed to weigh in the very capital intensive business of outsourcing, it threw his vest on the Dutch Origin, and then on the British Sema (a subsidiary of Schlumberger). At the same time, it took the weight in two major countries in Europe. Without the acquisition of Origin, Atos could never sign his giant contract over six years with the Dutch operator KPN.

Already experienced in Axime, Bernard Bourigeaud refined his philosophy acquisition. It is based on five principles: the complementarity of the trades, the quick review of the portfolio of activity, the installation of a new direction on the first day, the communication to the customer and staff, and finally the timeliness of decision-making (particularly not working groups!). For him, this activism is also an opportunity to move the group, in its perimeter and its management.

Effective, the method is not foolproof. And the current difficulties in Britain comes from the last acquisition, the largest of Sema. Therefore, the Group announced a refocusing of the management that pass by ostracizing the past patterns of Sema still in place. If Bernard Bourigeaud says prefer large acquisitions to small because the synergies are more important and management easier to integrate, digesting a piece of the size of Sema will take time and pay perhaps centralization extra (avoid excesses) and therefore bureaucracy. You touch there in one of the limitations of the system.

But back to be the ex - Sema is not only urgent task on the agenda of Bernard Bourigeaud. It must imperatively restart growth machine without the engine of the acquisitions.

The Group has two disadvantages. It is too European, and the high share of outsourcing in sales (50 of the turnover) makes it sensitive to the price decline in the renegotiation of these giant contracts. The only solution to continue to earn money while lowering prices is to use the "offshore", in other words outsourcing in emerging countries and India mainly. Now, all large British contract wins at the price of "offshore". Yet only 4.3 of its staff is based in India (1,800 persons) against more than 10 for Capgemini and Accenture even more. And in the rest of Asia, its presence remains symbolic (2 of sales).

This is why the counter-attack will focus for once on internal growth. Because the Group has to get out of the rut of three accelerators add-on: common society mounted with Euronext, which manages stock computer, a subsidiary specializing in e-payments in Europe, and finally a strong position in Great Britain in the field of medical outsourcing. All areas with high potential of growth and profitability. They already represent about 20 of the turnover and 30 of the profits.

Bernard Bourigeaud hopes that these three nuggets, combined with a better control of the operational, could a few months to occur in the figures and to restart the engine of the acquisitions. It will be more than time to put the cap on Asia. The race against the clock is committed, response within six months.