Sigma AB

Sigma AB (or Sigma Group) is a group of companies carrying out consultancy operations within IT, information logistics, engineering services, technical R&D, industry and social structure.

Sigma AB
TypePrivate
IndustryConsulting services for IT, Energy, Industry and Infrastructure projects
Founded1986 (1986)
FounderDan Olofsson (Chairman)
HeadquartersMalmö, Sweden
OwnerDanir AB
Number of employees
5000 (August 2022)
Websitewww.sigma.se

Sigma AB offers its services through the business areas Sigma Technology, Sigma Connectivity, Sigma Industry, Sigma Civil and Sigma Software, within which Sigma AB provides group management and manages the overall Sigma brand. It was listed on Stockholm Stock Exchange Small Cap list and NASDAQ OMX until 2013.

History

In 1993 Dan Olofsson purchased the technical consulting department of tech company Sapia and renamed it Sigma. Three years later the company employed 600 people and was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.[1]

By 1999 Sigma had grown in size to 5 000 employees in seven countries and a turnover of 1.4 billion SEK. The company struck a deal with Ericsson, becoming a "strategic partner" while expanding into wireless communications solutions.[2] In 2008 Askerö Utveckling offered to buy the company at 6.9 SEK per share for a total valuation of 599 million SEK. At the time Dan Olofssons holding company was a major shareholder controlling 31% of the shares.[3]

Sigma AB was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange Small Cap list and NASDAQ OMX. On 8 May 2013, Sigma requested that the company be delisted from NASDAQ OMX on 21 May that same year, after Danir AB acquired over 95% of the shares in the company. At the same time, Danir requested that the remaining shares be compulsorily redeemed. Since then, the company has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Danir AB, which the Olofsson family owns.[4] At the time, the company had 1400 employees.[5]

The company was first split into three businesses in 2001.[6] Among the specific engagements the company started after 2001 was a 2008 arrangement with AstraZeneca to outsource clinical trial data management, thereby reducing need for personnel at its U.S. headquarters in Delaware, which was in line with data management trends in the pharmaceutical industry at the time.[7] Noteworthy also were a 2009 arrangement with BTG Instruments AB to outsource technical documentation;[8] a 2011 win of a competitive contract to run IT functions for a new Swedish subsidiary of the Finnish energy firm Fortum;[9] and winning a contract competition to provide software services for an upgrade project for the public transport systems of Stockholm County.[10]

In 2010, Sigma acquired the Swedish peer competitor Cypoint, a firm established in 1996 with 100 employees across three Swedish sites.[11] In 2013, Sigma acquired a part of Sony Mobile and renamed it Sigma Connectivity.[12] In 2014 the company was structured into six business areas: Sigma IT Consulting, Sigma Connectivity, Sigma Industry, Sigma Civil, Sigma Software and Sigma Technology.[1]

Sigma Software

In 2006 Sigma AB bought a controlling stake (60%) in Kharkiv-based Ukrainian IT-company Eclipse for 8,7 million SEK.[13][14] By 2014 the company had grown to 500 employes and new offices were opened in Kiev, Warsaw and Silicon Valley.[15] At the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine activities were temporarily shuttered, pending evacuation and relocation of employees, growing the Lviv office and opening several new local branches in Western Ukraine.[16] A few hundred employees were relocated within Europe, mostly to Hungary and Poland. The company, employing 2 000 workers including 150 consultants, reported resumption of normal activities within two months of the invasion.[17]

References
  1. Persson, Johan (12 May 2022). "De har parerat kundtapp och krig – Daniels och Niklas bolag firar 20 år med en kvarts miljard i omsättning". Smålandsposten (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. "Sigma köper två Internetbolag". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 11 December 1999. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  3. "Bud på Sigma". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 27 March 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  4. Heirn, Pontus (20 February 2018). "Sigma brädar börskonsulter". Dagens Industri (in Swedish). p. 10.
  5. Satz, Lotta (21 February 2013). "Dan Olofsson lägger bud på hela Sigma". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). p. 25.
  6. Ericson, Niklas (4 May 2001). "Sigma siktar på att tredubbla styrkan". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish).
  7. Eder, Andrew (13 June 2008). "AstraZeneca announces outsourcing in two departments". The News Journal (Final ed.). p. B6 (28) – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Swedish Sigma signs technical documentation deal with BTG". ADP News Nordic. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2023 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  9. "Swedish Sigma wins EUR 5.6m IT outsourcing deal at home". ADP News Nordic. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2023 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  10. "SWEDEN : Contract for IT software development services awarded to Sigma AB". Tendersinfo News. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  11. "Swedish Sigma makes EUR 18.4m buy at home". ADP News Nordic. 16 August 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2023 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  12. Holm, Niklas (23 May 2013). "Hjärnan bakom jätteaffären". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish).
  13. "Power structure Sigma Software". Swedish-Ukrainian software company. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  14. Gunnar Wolmesjö, Lars (27 April 2006). "Köp i Ukraina lyfter Sigma". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  15. Arstad Djurberg, Joakim. "Warszawa nästa för Sigma". IT24 (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  16. Arstad Djurberg, Joakim. "Nu öppnar Sigma Software sitt Kiev-kontor igen". Computer Sweden (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  17. Frostberg, Thomas (25 April 2022). "Sigma utökar i Ukraina – mitt under kriget". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 July 2023.
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