Ericsson Beaming With ‘Pride’: Buys Systems Integrator

Telecom equipment maker Ericsson (ERIC) is buying an Italian consultancy and systems integrator to better offer services such as billing and customer relationship management.

Ericsson said on Tuesday it’s purchasing Pride SpA. It did not release the transaction’s financial details. Ericsson, based in Stockholm, will take on about 1,000 new employees, which, according to the Wall Street Journal, brings its total consulting and systems integration workforce to around 10,000.

Jan Frykhammar, Ericsson CFO, said in a statement the move will help end users manage telecom environments that are growing “more complex” as fixed and mobile networks converge.

Ericsson has snapped up five companies similar to Pride in the past five years. This latest acquisition still must receive regulatory approvals; it is expected to close by Feb. 1.

Ericsson’s stock was down .92 percent in early afternoon trading, at $9.74.