Serco finishes RCI buy

Serco Group plc has completed it acquisition of RCI Holding Corp., the company announced today.

In December, Serco of Hampshire, U.K., announced it was paying $215 million cash to purchase the Vienna, Va.-based provider of IT services, systems engineering, strategic consulting and human recourses-focused business process management services. RCI's primary customer is the Defense Department.

The company plans to integrate RCI's federal business with its existing North American operations, which is primarily with state and local government.

The combined operations are called Serco Services Inc. and will provide Serco with the critical mass to compete more effectively with larger, tier-one service providers in the United States, the company said.

George Troendle, president of RCI, will remain as president of the new company. He will report to Steve Cuthill, chairman and chief executive officer.

The acquisition of RCI, with estimated 2004 revenue of $289 million, more than doubles Serco's North American revenue.

Serco, a provider of facilities management and systems engineering, has more than 26,000 employees and annual sales of $2.3 billion.