Mannai Corp. said its board approved the sale of French information technology services provider Inetum SA, paving the way for a disposal that could fetch upward of $2 billion.
Mannai didn’t identify the potential buyer or how much it expects to receive from the sale. The deal is subject to entering definitive transaction documentation and approvals, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Shares in the company rose 1.6 percent at 9:30 a.m. in Doha, valuing Mannai at $683 million. The stock has gained about 84 percent over the past year, outpacing a 16 percent increase in the benchmark index.
The Qatari trading company has been working with advisers to help gauge interest in Inetum, Bloomberg reported last year. The company could fetch about $2.4 billion and attract private equity firms as well as other technology companies, the people said at the time.
Inetum offers systems integration, technology consulting, application engineering, outsourcing and software development services and is a top player in several European markets. The Paris-based company has nearly 27,000 employees in 26 countries and generated 1.97 billion euros of revenue last year, according to its website.
Mannai acquired 51 percent of the company, known at the time as GFI Informatique, in 2016. It later bought out remaining shareholders and delisted the company from the Paris bourse.
Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/technology/mannai-weighs-inetum-sale-in-deal-that-may-fetch-over-2-billion