STUTTGART (dpa-AFX) - IT service provider GFT Technologies is expanding its business in Latin America with a takeover in Colombia. The Stuttgart-based company is taking over the core banking specialist Sophos Solutions from the financial investor Advent, as GFT announced on Thursday evening. The news was well received on the stock market on Friday: After an initially muted reaction, GFT shares rose sharply.

In the meantime, the stock gained almost seven percent to 31.56 euros. In the early afternoon, the share price was still up by around four and a half percent, making GFT the clear leader in the small cap index SDax.

According to the announcement, the purchase price for Sophos is based on a company valuation of around 95 million US dollars (87 million euros). Following the recent share price increase, GFT itself has a market value of just under 830 million euros. The Stuttgart-based company intends to finance the purchase by extending existing credit lines and with its own funds. Management expects the transaction to be completed at the beginning of February.

GFT specializes in the digitalization of banks and insurance companies. Many of these companies have recently been renewing their computer systems, which is generating a lot of business for the Stuttgart-based company.

According to a GFT spokesperson, Sophos Solutions has nothing to do with the British software provider Sophos, which produces virus protection programs. The Colombian company has focused on modernizing core banking systems and cloud computing. The company has been owned by US financial investor Advent since 2020.

In 2022, Sophos Solutions reported sales of the equivalent of 60 million euros and a pre-tax profit of 9 million euros. For 2023, the company expects a slight increase in revenue and earnings below the previous year's figure, according to GFT.

GFT CEO Marika Lulay expects the takeover to give the company a larger presence with a new development center. This will give the company broader market and client access to first and second-tier financial institutions in Latin America.

The GFT Group's workforce will increase by almost 20 percent as a result of the takeover. According to its own figures, the Group most recently had more than 10,000 employees. The number of full-time positions at the end of September was around 9100./stw/he/tav/jha/