Telecommunications operator Orange has acquired Basefarm Holding AS, a major player in cloud infrastructure and critical application services in Europe, including big data and AI services. Orange has signed a contract to acquire 100% of Basefarm’s capital for an enterprise value of 350 million euros.
As a European player in cloud-based infrastructure and services, as well as the management of critical applications and data analysis, Basefarm has 550 employees and recorded revenues of over 100 million euros in 2017 and has enjoyed strong growth since 2015.
Basefarm has a strong operational presence in several European countries, particularly in Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria and in Germany, where it would boast a “cutting-edge” big data activity. Its business proposition would lie at the forefront of the most innovative services in cloud computing, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) thanks to the expertise of its 550 employees.
Following the recent purchase of Business & Decision, the acquisition of Basefarm represents an important step forward in Orange Business Services’ development strategy. With its existing team of 1,600 cloud computing experts, Orange Business Services is currently growing by around 15 to 20% each year on the global market in this sector.
Geographical Reach
The acquisition of Basefarm will complement Orange’s existing catalog of offers and will reinforce its strategic position by bringing a new source of expertise and innovative technologies, particularly in data management, the management of critical applications, Big Data and multi-cloud services. The addition of Basefarm would also complete the geographical reach of Orange’s services, “enabling it to become a leading player in Europe.”
By joining forces with Orange Business Services, Basefarm would gain a unique opportunity to accelerate growth in public and private cloud-services while “benefitting” from access to Orange’s global networks and infrastructure.
“We are very proud to announce the acquisition of Basefarm, which will mark a major milestone in our international development,” said Helmut Reisinger, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Orange Business Services. “In particular, the company’s integration will enable us to significantly extend our Big Data and critical application management services on a rapidly consolidating market. In addition to our ability to offer access to public or private cloud infrastructure, it is above all our capacity to propose enriched, automated services to our customers, wherever they are in the world, that will enable us to support companies as they transform onto new, digital models based on cloud-computing, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence.”
