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Majority stake in Indian software quality specialist

SQS acquires majority stake in Thinksoft.


Cologne, 08 Nov 2013

SQS Software Quality Systems, the world's leading specialist in software, acquires a majority stake in Thinksoft Global Services, the world's fourth-largest software tester. Like SQS, this stock exchange-listed IT service provider, which is based in Chennai, specialises in software quality.

With the strategic acquisition of a majority stake in Thinksoft, which boasts approximately 800 specialists, SQS is strengthening its industry coverage and increasing its focus on banking and financial services, with the addition of offshore capacity, including highly qualified consultants and software testers.

In India, SQS currently conducts testing mainly for clients in the manufacturing, retail and logistics, telecommunications and gaming sectors, whereas Thinksoft focuses exclusively on banks, financial services companies and insurances (BFSI). The fact that Thinksoft experts specialise in managed testing services was the crucial factor that prompted SQS to acquire Thinksoft.

The Indian software quality specialists will be able to contribute 20 years of industry experience and all major core applications used by banks and other financial service providers - this core expertise is vital when it comes to selecting the right IT service provider in the finance sector.

Thinksoft provides end-to-end software testing and quality assurance capabilities with domain expertise and has a 7 000 person-year track record of having delivered software validation and verification services for leading BFSI companies in Asia-Pacific, the USA, Europe, Middle East and India.

Furthermore, Thinksoft's detailed expertise in the BFSI sector is highly complementary to SQS. The acquisition is also in line with the company's managed services strategy.

Even today, private and investment banks, insurance companies and financial service providers are a major focus of SQS's client portfolio. "When it comes to managed testing services, companies can be sure that we have a detailed knowledge of all aspects of the business processes and software systems used in their industry," says Diederik Vos, Chief Executive Officer of SQS. "Acquiring Thinksoft will enable us to greatly expand this knowledge and experience - for all the major financial marketplaces."

SQS CEO Diederik Vos: "Our majority stake in Thinksoft supports our strategy, particularly when it comes to expanding in the field of managed services at our test centres. Our acquisitionn of Thinksoft will now enable us to achieve our goal far more quickly - of generating more than half our turnover from managed services for software testing. By more than doubling our resources in India, we will significantly increase our competitiveness."

Europe will also benefit from this expansion

Expansion in India will also benefit the other SQS sites and their staff, including those based in Europe. As SQS increasingly provides managed testing services via projects implemented across the globe, this expansion of SQS with the acquisition of Thinksoft will also create new jobs in Europe and the USA.

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SQS Software Quality Systems

SQS is the world's leading specialist in software quality. This position stems from over 30 years of successful consultancy operations. SQS consultants provide solutions for all aspects of quality throughout the whole software product life cycle driven by a standardised methodology, high offshore automation processes and deep domain knowledge in various industries. Headquartered in Cologne, Germany, the company employs approximately 2 800 staff. SQS has offices in Germany, the UK, Egypt, Finland, France, India, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa and the US. In addition, SQS maintains a minority stake in a company in Portugal. In 2012, SQS generated revenues of EUR210.1 million.

SQS is the first German company to have a primary listing on the AIM (Alternative Investment Market) in London. In addition, SQS shares are also traded on the German Stock Exchange in Frankfurt am Main.

With over 7 000 completed projects under its belt, SQS has a strong client base, including half of the DAX 30, nearly a third of the STOXX 50 and 20 of the FTSE 100 companies. These include, among others, Allianz, Beazley, BP, Centrica, Commerzbank, Daimler, Deutsche Post, Generali, JP Morgan, Meteor, Reuters, UBS and Volkswagen as well as other companies from the six key industries of SQS.

For more information, see www.sqs.com.

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