Fir Capital invests in Cyberlynxx, of IT services
Valor Econômico
Cyberlynxx, a Brazilian company of information technology service (IT), received an inflow from the company of investment in stockholding, Fir Capital. The amount is not revealed, but it represents 25% of the capital of the company, whose revenues, last year, was R$ 20 million (US$ 10.2 million). According to Marcus Regueira, incorporator of Fir Capital, over the next two years R$ 30 million (US$ 17.1 million) to $ 35 million (US$ 20 million) could be invested in the company. The funds came from Fundotec II, a fund of Fir Capital, and will be employed for three purposes: to strengthen the sales team in Brazil, begin the process of international expansion and make acquisitions. According to Marcelo Astrachan, president of Cyberlynxx, the goal is to reach earnings of R$ 100 million (US$ 57.1 million) in 2012.
To reach the goal, the strategy is to avoid the direct confrontation with the largest companies in the sector in the dispute for contracts that require a large volume of professionals, a segment disputed by names like IBM, Accenture, CSC, TCS, Wipro and Satyam. Instead, Cyberlynxx plans to search specialization in areas such as systems integration, security, business intelligence (analytical systems that help in decision making), portals and collaboration. Founded in 1996, Cyberlynxx has 210 employees and offices in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. With the expansion, the objective is to reach Minas Gerais and the South region. Outside the country, the targets are Mexico, Chile and Argentina. The idea is to extend contracts with the existing customers and forming partnerships to accomplish the process of internationalization.
The company's forecast is to reach revenues of R$ 30 million (US$ 17.1 million) this year, not counting eventual acquisitions. But the value could reach R$ 45 billion (US$ 25.7 millions) if two purchases planned, be completed in the second half. There are three businesses already in advanced stage of evaluation. "We do not want to buy portfolio of clients. We want to bring the partners to participate in the administration of the business," says Astrachan.
The investment in Cyberlynxx is the first of Fir Capital in an IT services company. For the manager, the company has a chance to participate actively in the consolidation process which is outlined in the sector. "It's a very fragmented segment. Even the large companies have less than 10% of market participation", says Regueira. The Brazilian market for IT services grew 4.47% in 2009, with R$ 6.5 billion (US$ 3.3 billion) in business. For this year, the expectation is an expansion of 8.5%.