Cognizant Enters Definitive Agreement to Acquire Six C1 Group Companies

Cognizant (News - Alert) recently signed a definitive agreement with The CI Group over the acquisition of six of its companies. The C1 Group consulting specializes in strategic consulting, process and systems integration and application development, in addition to delivering 24/7 services support.

In a statement, Francisco D'Souza, chief executive officer at Cognizant, said that, "We look forward to welcoming C1's talented professionals to Cognizant. This strategic acquisition underscores our commitment to the German and the larger European markets, and reinforces our position as one of the top consulting and IT services companies across the region. With this acquisition, Cognizant is even better positioned to help European clients achieve agility and competitive advantage by embracing a broad range of services.”

“The client-first culture of the C1 team, driven by extensive local business insights, strong relationships and entrepreneurial passion, makes it an excellent strategic fit for Cognizant," he said.

The companies Cognizant will acquire range from manufacturing and logistics, energy and utilities, to financial services. They will bring enterprise application services (specifically SAP (News - Alert)), and high-end testing services, including test consulting, strategy and design, and implementation.

Wilfried Forster, founder of the C1 Group, on behalf of the companies acquired by Cognizant, said that, "The agreement announced today is a major step forward for us. The outstanding growth and success of the C1 Group within the last ten years have been built on the foundation of customer satisfaction, expert teams with deep industry knowledge, and best-of-breed solutions. International expansion is critical for parts of the group to continue our strong growth, develop better solutions for our current and future customers, and provide greater opportunities for our employees.”

Terms of the acquisition stipulate that 500 professionals from various locations in Germany and Switzerland will be absorbed by Cognizant. The combination of Cognizant’s global delivery capabilities and C1's client-facing expertise will provide clients across Europe with improved cost efficiencies and greater operational effectiveness.  

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