Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/1998/08/21/keane_pays_30_million/

Keane pays $30 million for British Icom

First European acquisition

By Pete Morris

Posted in On-Prem, 21st August 1998 13:43 GMT

US services giant Keane has bought Icom Solutions, a Birmingham-based workflow designer for £30.6 million in stock. The acquisition is the first in Europe by Keane which is looking to aggressively expand outside of the US. Icom - formerly IMI Computing - specializes in workflow software for the financial services market, with customers including The Halifax, Guardian Insurance and British Airways. The company was founded by an MBO in 1996 when MD Irene Brown and director Ray Davies bought Icom for £5 million. The acquisition by Keane means that 200 of the 320 Icom staff share a £16 million windfall. Keane is aiming for sales of $1 billion by 1999, and has mapped out an aggressive acquisitions strategy. President John Keane Jr. said that its goal was to become a global services company. Keane has already bought three US resellers this year.