DOHA: Mannai Corporation set to acquire controlling stake (51 percent) in Gfi Informatique.
Gfi Informatique (Gfi), an IT conglomerate, has revenues close to €900m and employs around 12,000 IT professionals in France and other countries. Gfi is a major player in value-added IT services and software in Europe, and occupies a strategic position in its differentiated approach to global firms and niche entities.
Gfi currently has 8 shared service centres, 4 of which is in France and the rest in Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Poland. The Group has over 40 offices in France and further presence in 8 additional countries.
Since 2009, Gfi has successfully followed a strategy designed to make its services and software offerings stand out and move up the value chain. Backed by a clear and proven strategy, Gfi has launched a new phase in its growth, which is driven by the digital revolution. Gfi plans to increase the value addition of its combined services/software offering with innovation and creation of intellectual property. Gfi is also planning to expand its geographical foot print beyond Europe.
Mannai Corporation Group CEOand Director Alekh Grewal, said: “This acquisition is in line with Mannai Corporation’s stated objective of growing its business through diversifying its earnings internationally. Mannai Corporation’s IT operations in Qatar and India provide a complementary platform for Gfi’sexpansion into these markets. Being a long-term shareholder, Mannai Corporation aims to accelerate Gfi’s growth and international expansion strategy.”
Mannai Corporation already has a very strong footprint in information and communication technology. Its largest division — Mannai ICT — is Qatar’s leadingSystems Integrator. With its highly qualified workforce of close to 1,000 IT professionals it is supporting blue-chip enterprises, SMEs and the public sector in enhancing their IT infrastructure and technological capabilities in line with Qatar’s National Vision 2030.
Holding superior accreditation status with its international technology vendors, Mannai ICT is providing integrated end-to-end solutions throughout the entire technology stack. Starting from passive networking, to active networking, over servers, storage & virtualization, as well as security & cloud offerings these integrated IT solutions stretch right into the sphere of large software implementation projects and the development of customised software suites, including mobile applications.
Mannai ICT has received numerous awards, including 2015 Oracle Specialised Partner of the Year – Applications – Global, 2015 Oracle Specialised Partner of the Year – Applications – EMEA and HP Enterprise Partner of the Year – Middle East 2015 (Third Year in a Row — 2013, 2014 & 2015), Cisco Gold Certified Partner – 2015 & Cisco Master Security Partner – 2015. It is also providing sophisticated GIS and GDS solutions to Qatar on behalf of its global partners Esri and Travelport.
With its innovative service delivery concept and its focus on quality and execution Mannai ICT’s ongoing success is rooted in a business model that puts customer requirements first. Mannai ICT is conscious of the fact that its people’s skills and commitment and its customers’ and business partners’ trust are its greatest assets. Care for these assets and all legitimate stakeholder interests are subsumed in the Mannai Way, an ethical framework, which is guiding the company’s business conduct.
