Belgian Post funds BPG France
Belgian Post Group takes over the French firms Speos, DPCI and Symbiosis Management to create BPG France.
With the acquisition of the French firms Speos, DPCI and Symbiosis Management, Belgian Post Group acquires an advanced know-how and a large share of the French and Belgian markets in the documents-processing. New activities which corresponds to the strategy aiming at extending the chain of value of mail in order to evolve from a postal organisation to a communications company. In Belgium, eXbo, the subsidiary company manages the processing of the documents. Holding BPG France is founded for the French participations.
Speos, DPCI and Symbiosis, French companies, are specialized in numerical printing and envelopping of administrative documents such as invoices and abstract of accounts. Another significant activity of these companies is analogical storage and corporate numerical documents.
E-billing is another activity of Speos. The Speos group is active in Belgium and East of France. It employs 100 collaborators in Belgium and 300 in France, generating a 43 million Euros turnover in 2000. Speos customers are large firms mainly based in Paris and East of France.
The production of the software for documents processing and integration in the companies information processing systems represents most of the activities of DPCI. Active in Western France DPCI serves primarily the large firms. The company employs 150 people and a turnover of 11,5 million Euros in 2000. Speos had a share of 34% in DPCI.
Symbiose Gestion is part of the Asterion group and 18 m Euros turnover in 2000 and 200 collaborators. Symbiosis customers are primarily medium-sized companies.
Synergies are very significant in this capital intensive sector. With the acquisition of Speos, DPCI and Symbiosis, BPG could take adventage of a great knowledge and a significant know-how in numerical printing and storage. The merger of the three companies with Securipost will generate major economies of scale in terms of infrastructure and the management of the machine stock (purchase of machines, transfer of volumes). The new group can from now on cover the entire French and Belgian territories. The size of the group will increase the credibility among certain customers who want providers able to handle large volumes.
Extension of the d.eXbo activities will require a reinforcement of eXbo carrier division. Such is the reason why BPG also takes again Euro-Sprinters, a firm specialized as a document carrier, based in Kontich, in Belgium. Euro-sprinters had a 5 m Euros turnover in 2000 with 22 collaborators.
With these acquisitions, BPG has a significant share in the sector of the documents processing in France, which forms part of the strategic domestic market of BPG. With regard to DPCI and Symbiosis, it due diligence usual must still take place. The three companies will be gathered under a new subsidiary company with whole share of BPG, BPG France. The other French companies, which will be taken over in the future, will be also part of this holding directed by Frans Rombouts and Vincent Labruyère (Speos) as a President. The management and the operational responsibility for Speos, DPCI and Symbiosis will be entrusted to eXbo
