Egypt’s IST Networks joins global counterpart Majorel

Egypt-headquartered IST Networks has been acquired by Majorel, a global provider of customer experience solutions. Equiteq served as the exclusive sell-side financial advisor to the deal.

Founded in 2002, IST Networks provides customer experience technology consulting, application development, system integration and managed services to clients in Egypt and across the Middle East. The company’s around 270 employees operate from offices in Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE.

Two decades after its inception, the family owned company has now joined one of the largest players in its segment: Luxembourg-headquartered Majorel, which has over 50,000 employees and revenues of in excess of €1.2 billion.

“With Majorel we have found the perfect partner to deliver comprehensive technology-enabled customer experience transformation programs at scale. We realised early in the process that we fully resonate with Majorel’s clear vision for digital customer experience and are excited to jointly write the next chapter in our growth,” said Mohamed Fahmy, CEO of IST Networks.

Preparations for the deal – reportedly worth in the double-digit million Euro range – commenced almost three years ago, when the leadership team of IST Networks approached M&A consultancy Equiteq to help position the firm for its next phase of growth. This included crafting a growth agenda and exploring potential strategic or financial sponsors.

“From our initial contacts they’ve always believed in us, and their tireless work ethic and high level of professionalism have allowed us to execute successfully a complex transaction across several countries,” said Fahmy.

Now part of Majorel, IST Networks’ team will be able to access the network and nearshore delivery hubs of its parent, enabling the firm to deepen and extend its client services. IST Networks will also be able to add a range of new technology alliances to its existing roster of partnerships including Genesys, Cisco, Verint, and Nuance.

Arun Nayak, a Director at Equiteq, describes the joining of forces as a match made in heaven. “The strategic rationale and synergistic potential between IST Networks and Majorel are exceptional. We wish them continued success and look forward to seeing them flourish together as they orchestrate and execute transformation initiatives globally.”

For Equiteq, the deal is the first it closes this year in the Middle East. Elsewhere, the corporate finance advisory firm advised Just Analytics on its sale to global player Rackspace (Asia), and Integrity360 with the acquisition of Caretower (Europe).

Thomas Mackenbrock, CEO of Majorel said about the deal: “IST Networks has a great reputation and track record in the Middle East and our goal now is to leverage this expertise more broadly, adding value to our clients in EMEA.”