Sema Group
Encyclopedia
Sema Group plc was an Anglo-French IT
services company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange
and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
but was acquired by Schlumberger
in 2001.
established the BAeSEMA
naval systems joint venture to produce naval systems: it was dissolved in November 1998 when BAe purchased Sema's 50% share for £77 million.
In 1997 Sema acquired British Rail
Business Systems for £27m which was sold off by the UK Government as part of the Privatisation of British Rail
.
In the same time frame, Sema also acquired Syntax in Italy, formerly the IT Services division of Olivetti
, adding another important market to its geography.
In 2000 Sema acquired LHS
for €5.1 billion to access its US telecoms software and services businesses: some analysts blamed the LHS acquisition for a profits warning in 2000 and a 45% fall in its stock market valuation.
In 2001 Sema Group plc was acquired by Schlumberger
and was renamed SchlumbergerSema. In 2004 the bulk of the company was sold on to Atos Origin
. The messaging unit was merged with Taral Networks and spun off as Airwide Solutions
. The Smart Card and Terminal Department (formerly part of Schlumberger Test & Transactions) became Axalto
, which later merged with Gemplus International
to form Gemalto
.
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
services company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
but was acquired by Schlumberger
Schlumberger
Schlumberger Limited is the world's largest oilfield services company. Schlumberger employs over 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities working in approximately 80 countries...
in 2001.
History
The Company was founded in 1988 by the merger of the British CAP Group and the French company, Sema-Metra SA.In 1991 Sema and British AerospaceBritish Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
established the BAeSEMA
BAeSEMA
BAeSEMA was a naval technology joint venture between British Aerospace and the French Sema Group. The company was formed in 1991 and dissolved in November 1998 when BAe purchased SEMA's 50% share....
naval systems joint venture to produce naval systems: it was dissolved in November 1998 when BAe purchased Sema's 50% share for £77 million.
In 1997 Sema acquired British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
Business Systems for £27m which was sold off by the UK Government as part of the Privatisation of British Rail
Privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
.
In the same time frame, Sema also acquired Syntax in Italy, formerly the IT Services division of Olivetti
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines.- Founding :The company was founded as a typewriter manufacturer in 1908 in Ivrea, near Turin, by Camillo Olivetti. The firm was mainly developed by his son Adriano Olivetti...
, adding another important market to its geography.
In 2000 Sema acquired LHS
LHS Telekom
Former LHS Telekommunikation GmbH & Co. KG, is now a fully integrated part of Ericsson. From the 28th of January 2011, the Ericsson brand is used for all Billing and Customer Care solutions of the company. -History:...
for €5.1 billion to access its US telecoms software and services businesses: some analysts blamed the LHS acquisition for a profits warning in 2000 and a 45% fall in its stock market valuation.
In 2001 Sema Group plc was acquired by Schlumberger
Schlumberger
Schlumberger Limited is the world's largest oilfield services company. Schlumberger employs over 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities working in approximately 80 countries...
and was renamed SchlumbergerSema. In 2004 the bulk of the company was sold on to Atos Origin
Atos Origin
Atos S.A. is an international information technology corporation which operates in 42 countries worldwide, with over 78,500 employees...
. The messaging unit was merged with Taral Networks and spun off as Airwide Solutions
Airwide Solutions
Airwide Solutions was a privately held United States-based mobile messaging and wireless internet infrastructure company. It was acquired by Mavenir Systems in May 2011....
. The Smart Card and Terminal Department (formerly part of Schlumberger Test & Transactions) became Axalto
Axalto
Axalto has been a smart card manufacturer, that during its brief independent existence, with over 4,500 employees in 60 countries, was one of the world's leading providers of microprocessor cards and also a major supplier of point of sale terminals.Axalto's business covered the telecommunications,...
, which later merged with Gemplus International
Gemplus International
Acquired by the Texas Pacific Group in 2000, Luxemburg-based Gemplus International SA was a provider of smart cards and related technologies, until its June 2, 2006 merger with rival Axalto; the combined entity is known as Gemalto....
to form Gemalto
Gemalto
Gemalto is an international digital security company, providing secure personal devices such as smart cards and tokens in addition to software applications and managed services. The company was formed in June 2006 by the combination of two companies Axalto and Gemplus International...
.