Atos to acquire Unify from Gores and Siemens
Expected in the first quarter 2016
Atos, The Gores Group and Siemens have reached an agreement for Atos to acquire Unify, the number three world leader of integrated communication solutions. With this acquisition Atos intends to create a unique integrated proposition for unified communications and real time capabilities enhancing social collaboration, digital transformation, and business performance of its clients. The transaction is subject to employee representative’s bodies’ information and consultation and the approvals of the regulatory and antitrust authorities. Closing is expected in the first calendar quarter of 2016.
Thierry Breton, Chairman and CEO of Atos said: “The contemplated acquisition of Unify will increase our offerings for the digital transformation for our customers. They are looking for seamless services solutions for their entire digital portfolio and a reliable partner that can service their needs end-to-end. Unify portfolio and customer base is a perfect match that uniquely complements existing Atos digital capabilities”.
Alec Gores, Chairman and CEO of The Gores Group, stated, “Since the start of our joint venture with Siemens AG, we embarked on a transformation plan focused on operational excellence and meeting the needs of our global customers. Together we invested in innovation, rebranded the company, recruited an impressive management team, and transitioned the business to a channel-driven, software-first company.” Gores added, “We believe Unify is well positioned to take the business to new levels of success and performance with the support of its new shareholder.”
Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG, said: “I am convinced that Atos is the perfect solution for a sustainable future of Unify and its customers. Atos is a proven and a trustful partner and a specialist for successful integration of acquisitions. At the same time, we are diligently executing on our Vision 2020, focusing our business and position Siemens along the value chain of electrification, automation and digitalization.”
Founded in 2008 as Siemens Enterprise Communication and headquartered in Munich (Germany), Unify is a joint venture between The Gores Group (51%) and Siemens (49%), active mainly in Europe and in the Americas. Unify provides end-to-end communications software and services enhancing social collaboration, digital transformation and business performance, through vertical specialized solutions. With 5600 employees and active in over 60 countries, Unify today generates €1.2 billion revenue.
New services for the digital age
Together with Unify, Atos would bridge the gap between communication and IT services. Unify is recognized by Industry analysts as “leader” in corporate telephony and “visionary” for unified communications. Leveraging over 3,000 patents, Unify technologies would expand Atos’ digital transformation offerings.
In particular, Unify developed “Circuit”, a category defining communication solution, the first of its kind enabled by the new Web RTC. It provides with HD audio and video quality amazing seamless channel/device movement, powerful and contextual search, social collaboration, content storage, contact integration with other systems (e.g. LinkedIn, Outlook) with a simple single application and user interface as opposed to most existing solutions. This convinced Siemens deciding for Unify against competition and to become the first enterprise customer to use Unify Circuit on a large scale.
About Atos SE
Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is a leader in digital services with 2014 pro forma annual revenue of circa € 11 billion and 93,000 employees in 72 countries. Serving a global client base, the Group provides Consulting & Systems Integration services, Managed Services & BPO, Cloud operations, Big Data & Cyber-security solutions, as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the payments and transactional services industry. With its deep technology expertise and industry knowledge, the Group works with clients across different business sectors: Defense, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Media, Utilities, Public sector, Retail, Telecommunications, and Transportation. Atos is focused on business technology that powers progress and helps organizations to create their firm of the future. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and is listed on the Euronext Paris market. Atos operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting, Atos Worldgrid, Bull, Canopy, and Worldline.
Contact for journalists:
Caroline Crouch, phone: +44 77 33 310086, E-mail: caroline.crouch(at)atos.net