Neusoft Corporation announced recently that it signed an agreement with the Finnish software company Sesca Group Oy to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Sesca's three subsidiaries - Sesca Mobile Software Oy, Almitas Oy and Romania-based Sesca Technologies SRL.

The three companies will be integrated into Neusoft's global mobile solution business unit.

The acquisition will help Neusoft upgrade its ability to develop, design and test software for mobile phones and other mobile communication terminals.

The acquisition is expected to be approved by Chinese regulators soon.

Neusoft is one of the leading IT solutions and services companies in China and the nation's largest offshore software and service outsourcing provider.

The acquisition will help Neusoft further expand its market in Europe and strengthen the company's cooperation with its partners.

"Neusoft is very pleased with this acquisition, which will help us significantly strengthen our expertise in mobile phone software development and testing," said Liu Jiren, Chairman & CEO of Neusoft.

"Sesca has world-class know-how. By uniting the operations of Sesca and Neusoft, we expect to become one of the leading global companies in this field."

Neusoft is accelerating its expansion abroad especially, in Europe and the Americas, and as part of the effort it invited former SAP North Asia CEO Klaus Zimmer to take the positions of vice-president and European president of the company.

Since the onset of the global financial crisis in September last year, many multinational companies looked for new locales for research and development (R&D) due to rising costs.

New opportunities

A number of companies in Europe and the Americas have since transferred their operations to China, in turn bringing opportunities to Chinese companies ready to expand their business in foreign countries. Neusoft is one of them.

"The financial crisis provides more opportunities to Chinese enterprises expecting to go out," said Professor Shao Jianbing of Liaoning University. "It is a good chance for them to enter global market with lower costs and effectively promote their brands to the world."

By acquiring experienced professionals and additional customers through the Sesca acquisition, Neusoft is also better positioned to play a bigger role in global mobile communication software market.

According to industry statistics, cross-border acquisitions around the world in the first half of 2009 decreased 35 percent compared to the same period last year. But the number of overseas acquisitions by Chinese enterprises has risen 40 percent.

Neusoft posted net profits of 237 million yuan in the first half of this year, up 31.6 percent from the same period of last year.

Neusoft now has six software development bases, eight regional headquarters, 16 software development and technical support centers, and a marketing and service network in more than 40 cities across China.

The company also has subsidiaries in the United States, Japan and Europe.

"To constantly improve QCD - quality, cost and delivery - is an important part of Neusoft's strategy to build its core competence," said Chen Ximin, SVP & COO of Neusoft.

Global partnerships

Neusoft is growing faster through partnerships and acquisitions and the purchase of Sesca is another step into the international market.

Through cross-border acquisitions, Neusoft has already set up R&D and technical support facilities in Europe that have further promoted its products and solutions for mobile communications, car electronics and industrial control on the continent.

Beginning with embedded software, the company made a fortune through cooperation with Japan's Alpine, a leading manufacturer of in-car information equipment.

Today Neusoft has a leading position in China's embedded software industry.

The company has established partnerships for research and innovation with 30 multinational corporations including Nokia and Philips.

The company's embedded software is now widely used in household digital products and products such as mobile terminals.

Neusoft has established three institutes for software development that have more than 25,000 students, and each year will provide about 6,000 graduates for the company and other enterprises throughout the country.

Neusoft has also built a vocational training base for IT professionals that train tens of thousands of students each year.