CGI, a Canadian global information technology consulting, systems integration, outsourcing, and solutions company headquartered in Montreal, made a $459m offer for Acando, a software, information technology, database, and web design consulting firm based in Stockholm. The offer represents a 44% premium to Acando's last share price. "CGI's offer to merge with Acando is aligned to the metro-market based element of our acquisition strategy. Our continued investment in CGI's proximity model is more relevant than ever as clients continue consolidating their partners to a fewer number of trusted ones who have the capabilities, scale, and quality delivery necessary to help drive growth and achieve efficiencies. In fact, client demand for end-to-end services, from consulting and intellectual property-based solutions to outsourcing, continues to accelerate as technology becomes core to our clients' operations," George D. Schindler, CGI President, and Chief Executive Officer.