Wang expands

Wang's announcement that it will be buying Olsy, the wholly-owned IT services subsidiary of Olivetti, has had a cautious welcome from the group's customers.

The $390m (z243.8m) deal will create the world's fourth largest network and desktop services company, worth around $3.6bn in annual revenues and employing over 20,000 staff. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval, but Wang is confident that it will be ratified before the end of March.

The two companies have been negotiating for some years since Olivetti decided to divest itself of non-core businesses and concentrate its efforts on the telecoms market. Wang's payback will be the opportunity to expand its presence in major European and Asian markets through Olsy's strong local operations.

In addition to business restructuring, Olivetti will become Wang's largest shareholder, with an 18.6 per cent holding.

Olsy has considerable penetration in the UK financial services and banking market. Its customers include Abbey National, Barclays, Nat West, Alliance and Leicester, Halifax, WH Smith and the DTI.

"We have a big relationship with Olivetti and Olsy and are currently trailing some of their products in our new hi-tech superstores," said Paula Ikinger, project consultant at Abbey National. She was not prepared to comment on how the Wang take-over may affect Abbey National's plans for using Olsy equipment

Abbey National is considering buying Olsy's CM24 Teller Assist Units after trials in its z1m prototype branch in Manchester. These cash handling machines have an integrated safe connected to staff-controlled PCs and so security screens have been replaced by an open-plan approach.