Logica to exit London Stock Exchange on 24 August

CGI, which offered to buy software and information technology services firm Logica for £1.7 billion in May, has confirmed that the company will exit the London Stock Exchange on Friday 24 August.

All of Logica's executive and non-executive directors will also stand down on 21 August, according to a stock market bulletin, after the acquisition becomes effective on 20 August.

Last month, Logica’s shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting CGI’s recommended cash offer of 105 pence per share. CGI has said that it expects to receive annual benefits of £125 million by the end of the third financial year following completion of the sale.

“We will immediately start the process of successfully integrating the two businesses to create a global technology services leader with 72,000 professionals,” said Michael E Roach, president and CEO at CGI, at the time.

However, the deal has been heavily criticised by analysts, who stated that CGI would not be able to create a new global business by integrating Logica’s European operations.

TechMarketView analyst Anthony Miller said that today's news begs the question as to who will be around on 22 August to open the shutters at Kings Place.

“CGI needs to make the handover as 'seamless' as possible in these circumstances,” he said. “We would suggest that an external announcement on who will run CGI Logica (and how) is required sooner rather than later.”

Earlier this year the Government Procurement Service announced that it had signed a four year deal with Logica, worth £500 million, to provide HR, finance and IT services in a bid to centralise procurement.

Read Techworld's interview with Logica CTO David King on why cloud is the internet’s unfinished business.