Capco bolsters presence in the US with ATOM acquisition
UK-headquartered Capco has bolstered its presence in the United States with the acquisition of ATOM Solutions, a Texas-based IT consultancy focused on delivering commodities trading services and solutions.
The move adds a team of some 25 employees to Capco’s office in Houston, where ATOM Solutions is based and was founded eight years ago. The US company supports a range of clients with IT strategy and execution work in the commodity trading space, and is a certified implementation partner of Allegro’s commodity trading and risk management (CTRM) software.
For ATOM Solutions, the move allows the firm to “accelerate growth opportunities through access to a wider client base” and work on some of the most complex engagements in industry thanks to Capco’s “track record and international reach”, said Firoz Jhaver, chief executive of the firm. Globally, Capco has 27 offices across four continents.
As part of the deal – for which financial terms were not disclosed – Jhaver and all of ATOM’s employees will join Capco’s US division, which has eight offices and serves the firm’s largest single market. “We see strong business and cultural alignment, and are excited to welcome the ATOM team to the Capco family,” said Lance Levy, CEO of Capco.
Financial Services and Energy
For Capco, the acquisition deepens the portfolio of both its financial services as well as energy practice. On the latter focus area, Lance McAnelly, a Managing Partner at Capco in the US, said: “There are clear synergies in the financial services sector, where banks in the US and Europe are using Allegro within their commodities trading businesses.”
Since its founding 20 years ago, Capco has always focused on the financial services sector. Leveraging deep industry knowledge, the firm’s business and technology consultants support banks, insurance companies, asset managers, fintechs and more with consulting, programme delivery, digital transformation and managed services.
In more recent years, Capco has also built an Energy practice, which today houses around 400 of its 5,000 employees. In this space, the consultancy works on topics including commodity trading, risk management, compliance and regulation and digital transformation, serving the retail & wholesale energy, oil & gas and utilities sectors. “We see real potential for growth in commodities trading in energy,” said McAnelly.
While it is Capco’s first acquisition since its return to independence – backed by private equity, Capco separated from FIS in August 2017 – Levy said that it won’t take as long for a next deal to be unveiled. “This represents our first step in pursuing [attractive] acquisition opportunities.”
