Advised S.E.S.A., a provider of R&D outsourcing services, on its sale to TietoEnator Corporation 
– S.E.S.A. focuses on R&D services for telecom system vendors, similar to TietoEnator’s telecom R&D operation
– More than 70% of net sales come from the telecom industry, where the main customers are Siemens, Alcatel, Nortel, Nokia, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and Telecom Italia
– Founded in 1990 and headquartered near Frankfurt, the company has approximately 500 employees across Germany
– The Company is engaged primarily in the provision of consulting, development and hosting services for e-business
– Listed on the Helsinki and Stockholm Stock Exchange and Stockholsbörsen, TietoEnator has close to 16,000 employees and is operational internationally, with activities in more than 30 countries
– The acquisition allowed TietoEnator to pursue two of its strategic goals, which were to increase its presence in Germany and further strengthen its leading role in European telecom R&D services
– S.E.S.A. AG provides a strong customer base, including Siemens and Alcatel, and allows TietoEnator to complement its existing close relationships with Ericsson and Nokia with a strong central European presence, especially in Germany
– S.E.S.A. also owns Axiome Technologies S.A. (France) with 120 employees near Paris and 49% of S.E.S.A. SpA in Italy with 80 employees
– S.E.S.A. was owned by funds managed by General Atlantic Partners L.L.C, management and other private investors
– Arma Partners was engaged to advise S.E.S.A on its strategic options for building on its success in the context of rapid change in the telecoms R&D services market. Globalisation of services delivery and increasing penetration of standard-solution-based services present both challenges and opportunities for the whole sector
– Arma Partners helped the company and its shareholders to analyse, negotiate and compare alternative strategic options. The company and its shareholders chose to pursue the option of a transaction with TietoEnator, which strengthened S.E.S.A.’s strategic base with its customers while also providing liquidity to shareholders
– Arma Partners initiated discussions with TietoEnator and introduced the parties, and then managed the process to signing in less than three months