Altran, a global leader in Engineering and R&D services (ER&D), has entered today, through its subsidiary Altran US, into a definitive agreement to acquire Aricent, a global digital leader in design and engineering services, from a group of investors led by KKR, for a total enterprise value of €1.73 billion or $2.0 billion in an all-cash transaction. Based on LTM June 2017 data, this corresponds to 10.6x EBITDA4 pre-synergies, and 8.0×4 post run-rate-synergies (14.4x EBIT pre-synergies and 9.9x EBIT4 post-synergies). The transaction has been unanimously approved by Altran’s Board of Directors and is expected to close in Q1 2018, subject to receipt of antitrust approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Following the transaction, the combined entity will become the undisputed global leader in ER&D services, a market expected to be worth €220 billion by 2020. The transaction is expected to close during Q1 2018, subject to receipt of necessary antitrust approvals and satisfaction of other customary conditions.