Canadians make bid for Chippenham-based space software firm

Chippenham-based software and IT services company SCISYS looks likely to be taken over by Canadian tech firm CGI, after the directors of the UK group unanimously supported a takeover bid.

CGI offered 245.15p per share to acquire SCISYS, which is best known for its work in the space sector, with clients including the European Space Agency.

It also operates in the media, government, defence, and commerce sectors, where its customers include the Environment Agency, the Ministry of Defence, Airbus Defence & Space, Vodafone, the BBC, RNLI, Siemens, and the National Trust.

The group employs 670 skilled professionals at its Chippenham HQ and at offices in Bristol, London, and Reading. It has an annual revenue of approximately £58.4 million.

George Schindler, president and CEO of Montreal-headquartered CGI said: “CGI’s offer to merge its operations with those of SCISYS is aligned to our Build and Buy strategy, providing opportunities to expand our industry depth in space, defence, government and media in the UK and Germany.

“SCISYS’ industry-leading expertise and IP-based services and solutions will provide an opportunity to globalise certain platforms utilising the broader CGI geographic footprint and client relationships.”

Torsten Strass, CGI president of Central and Eastern Europe Operations, added: “The addition of SCISYS consultants and IP to CGI’s local presence and global reach will benefit our clients, and in particular making our investment in the European space industry more relevant than ever before.”