Ci&T studies new acquisitions in the country
Valor Econômico
Gaining competitiveness in the international market many times requires that the company gains muscle in its native country. After the creation of a company in partnership with Japanese Rococo, Ci&T, a Brazilian company aimed at the outsourcing of technology services, studies new acquisitions in the domestic market and gets ready for a possible IPO. In the target of Ci&T are small-sized companies that were created in incubators and operate in segments in which the company has a minor market share. "The initial proposal was to acquire a company in the United States, but there were doubts whether the acquisition would work out from the point of view of the corporate culture", affirms Cesar Gon, CEO of Ci&T.
The company intends to gain competitiveness in some segments of the market, keeping the structure of the acquired companies. "I do not want to restructure the company", says Gon. In March, Ci&T acquired BI-One, a São Paulo company that provides consulting services for the implementation of analytic systems, with the financial support of BNDESPar (Investment Branch of the National Development Bank). The company also has 55% of interest in Sensedia (which also has the Novarum fund as partner).
Ci&T has R$ 20 million (US$ 11 million) in cash to carry out three acquisitions, says Gon. According to the officer, even if the acquisitions are made in Brazil the final purpose is to grow in the international market. This year, 40% of the earnings of the company came from operations overseas, 5 percent above last year's. Of that total, 95% of the foreign income was originated in the United States. Ci&T started the internationalization process six years ago, with the setting up of commercial offices in Philadelphia (USA) and in London (England). But it was only this year it invested in the setting up of a software development laboratory outside Brazil - in Ningbo, China, that operates with 27 employees.
This year's expectation is to repea the earnings of R$ 70 million (US$ 38.3 million) reached in 2008. For 2010, the goal is to reach earnings of R$ 100 million (US$ 56 million), 50% from operations abroad - especially with the increase of the sales to Asia. When it reaches such earnings, says Gon, the company intends to go public. "With such earnings, it is much easier to attract investors", he affirms.