Global IT services firm Wipro is acquiring €32m-turnover Belgium-headquartered 4C, one of the largest Salesforce partners in EMEA, and is now planning a major assault on the European Salesforce services market. Salesforce's annual sales were up 29% to $17.1bn, for the year ended 31 January 2020. Europe, which now represents around a fifth of Salesforce’s global activities, was the strongest sales performer. The region saw its annual year-over-year turnover increase by 34%.
Established in 1997, with its headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium, 4C is a Salesforce Platinum Partner. 4C says it has delivered over 1,500 projects for more than 500 customers.
It has over 350 employees based out of local offices in London, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen and Dubai, and has Salesforce practices covering the UK, France, Benelux, the Nordics and the United Arab Emirates regions.
“This acquisition significantly strengthens Wipro’s position as a leading provider of Salesforce solutions in these markets,” said Wipro. Wipro already has a well-established Salesforce business in the Americas, Japan and Australia, which was reinforced with the Appirio acquisition in 2016. As part of the €68m deal, 4C will be consolidated as part of Wipro’s Salesforce practice, which provides solutions globally around multiple Salesforce clouds and its ecosystem of products.
Harish Dwarkanhalli, president of cloud enterprise platforms at Wipro, said: “The 4C team bring in a rich blend of deep Salesforce expertise across multiple clouds, coupled with multi-lingual expertise with strong regional knowledge.
“This combination along with Wipro’s reach across the region and industry will help us become a dominant Salesforce player in Europe.”
Johan Van Genechten, chief executive officer at 4C, said: "Wipro's global presence, robust digital transformation consulting and delivery capabilities, and significant investment in the European market, provides an excellent platform for growth.”
Angelique de Vries-Schipperijn, EVP and GM of Northern Europe at Salesforce, said, “Our partners are at the centre of our growth. 4C’s strong regional focus and strength in multi-cloud implementations, coupled with Wipro’s strong consulting strength provide an unassailable advantage to Salesforce customers in EMEA.”
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed in the quarter ending 30 September 2020, said Wipro.
