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IBM has fully
acquired Global Value Solutions SA, a Helo Horizonte,
Brazil-based Information Technology (IT) services provider
which serves the small and medium business market. Since
2001, GVS has been a joint venture by IBM and Fiat, with
each company holding a 50-percent stake. With this
agreement, IBM acquires Fiat's stake in the company as part
of IBM's plan to grow and strengthen its presence in the
Brazilian IT services market for SMB companies.
"IBM is already
the largest IT and business consulting services provider in
Brazil, and adding GVS capabilities helps us continue our
expansion in the growing SMB market," said Rogério Oliveira,
president of IBM Brazil. IBM employs about 9,000 people in
Brazil, with roughly half of them in services.
GVS is
headquartered in Nova Lima, in the metropolitan region of
Belo Horizonte. It is one of the five largest companies in
the state of Minas Gerais, with about 400 employees in five
locations. It provides system integration and other IT
services to clients in the automotive, automobile parts,
metallurgy, finance, services and telecommunications
industries. "Our full affiliation with IBM will allow GVS to
expand rapidly in Brazil's SMB market," said Octavis
Augustus, general manager for GVS. "We will continue to
focus on developing new offerings and solutions for this
important client segment."
Global Value Solutions counts the Fiat Group, Grand Sapore,
Engevox, Fábio Perini and Grampos Aço among its clients. The
company's portfolio of services and offerings includes
services of hosting/co-location, applications management and
software development, ERP consulting and application and
network management. |
