Civica in local acquisitions

British software provider Civica today claimed to have acquired an 80 per cent market share in IT services for Queensland councils after the acquisition of Practical Computer Services.

Peter Anderson, CEO of Civica for the Asia Pacific region, would not disclose the value of the acquisition, but said that it is an "important acquisition for us, but you wouldn't call it a large acquisition".

Through the acquisition, Practical Computer Services' 30 staff will be transferred to Civica. Practical's Toowoomba premises will now become Civica's Queensland headquarters. Anderson confirmed that there would be no layoffs as a result of the acquisition.

In addition to the acquisition of Practical Computer Services, Civica also bought NZ-based local government provider Electionz.com, which has three staff.

Based in the UK, Civica has about 1,350 staff globally and is a major player in the IT market for Australian local government services.

Anderson estimated that across Australia, Civica has "up to" 40 per cent market share in the local government IT services market. Anderson said that the major competitors for this market were GEAC and Technology One.