Ebookings firm subject of takeover

The electronic bookings element of the £2.3bn National Programme for NHS IT is likely to be won by SchlumbergerSema - just as the services supplier is being taken over by consultancy Atos Origin.

The planned merger, announced to the Stock Exchange on Monday, should have little impact on the deal going ahead.

But analysts say the integration of the two companies will be a distraction.

Sources close to the ebooking negotiations say rival bidder Fujitsu was told at the end of last week that it would not be progressing to the next stage, leaving SchlumbergerSema as the only company on the shortlist.

But the National Programme contract team, led by director general of NHS IT Richard Granger, would have known a takeover of SchlumbergerSema was a possibility, says Ovum Holway analyst Tola Sargeant.

'Granger will have to look into what Atos Origin is doing and what their financial strengths are but he would've been aware of these issues before this stage,' she said.

The two suppliers are a similar size - both have a turnover of around £2bn and 20,000 to 25,000 employees - so integration may be problematic, says Sargeant.

'We think firms shouldn't acquire companies more than 50 per cent of their own size. It is hard to say what the implications are for the ebooking contract, but the integration will obviously be a distraction,' she said.

A spokesman for the National Programme said: 'We are aware that Atos Origin is proposing to acquire elements of SchlumbergerSema and will take this proposal into account as necessary. A formal announcement about the successful bidder will be made in the next three to four weeks.'