Serco acquires Sapienza
Serco Group plc has entered into an agreement to acquire Sapienza Group, from TP Group plc, to expand its offering to the European space sector.
Image courtesy Serco
The transaction is subject to final regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the coming weeks.
Sapienza, based in the Netherlands, is a leading European provider of consulting services and digital solutions to demanding clients in high-tech, high-reliability and critical sectors, focusing on space and also working in defence and security.
The acquisition will strengthen Serco’s space portfolio and expand our offering and capabilities in the fast-growing space market, supporting the group’s growth strategy of becoming a leading European provider of complex managed services for the space sector.
The transaction will bring 150 highly skilled people to Serco Europe’s operations, doubling our presence in the Netherlands. They will join the 1,600 Serco colleagues who are currently working on civil and military space programmes in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, France, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia and several other European countries.
Globally, space is a key sector for Serco and the business is rapidly growing in all the regions in which we operate. Serco works for the European Space Agency (ESA), EUMETSAT, DLR, NASA, and the UK Ministry of Defence and has been active in the space sector for over 40 years.
Sapienza’s digital solutions include Eclipse, a project management tool of choice with over 25,000 users across government agencies and commercial space companies. The software suite is used on more than 50 ESA space missions and is already supported by Serco in ESA.
“It’s a great strategic fit for our customers and our people”, says Gaëtan Desclée, CEO Serco Europe, “we know Sapienza well, having worked alongside each other on many occasions. The combination of exceptional talent, capabilities and resources will create exciting learning and development opportunities for our teams and enable Serco to meet our clients’ rapidly evolving needs even better.”
Desclée added: “Sapienza’s 25-year experience serving the European Space Agency and European space sector complements Serco’s 40-year support to the ESA. We see great opportunities ahead for our combined business. The expertise and resources being brought together will enable us to secure these opportunities for the benefit of our customers, our business and our people.”