01/08/2009 14h56
With cash in hand, TI sector plans more acquisitions
Valor Econômico 01/08/2009
With the cash surplus caused by the increase in income or by funds from the initial public offering, the information technology (IT) companies bet on the activity of mergers and acquisitions to grow and meet the market's demand in 2008. According to a survey made by KPMG, there were 72 operations, the greatest number since the beginning of Plano Real, in 1994, and they were enough to keep the sector among the leading sectors of the consolidation activity in the country, with 449 operations in the period. The repetition of this historical mark shall not take place with the nebulous situation of the economy in 2009, but the cash of the companies will continue having funds for new operations, say the Officers heard by Valor. Marco Stefanici, president and founder of the company that has its family name, said the expectation is to close the purchase of up to three companies this year to reach growth of 60% in income. For such, the company has set aside US$ 150 million in its own funds that will also be used to finance two or three other operations which are planned for the year of 2010. The focus of the strategy that started being designed a year and a half ago is companies outside Brazil, in one of the 16 countries in which the company operates. According to Marcel Malczewski, president of Bematech, the company currently has eight confidentiality agreements executed and one more intensive negotiation under way. After closing eight operations, the executive affirms Bematech has advanced a lot, the reason why it decided to go public. According to Malczewski, the company is being more selective, regardless the crisis. Spread-out and with the most of its eight thousand companies with up to 25 employees, the Brazilian software and services market - where most of the mergers and acquisitions are taking place - does not require a lot of funds from the purchasers. Even in operations of greater size, the primary source of the companies is development agencies, like the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES).
