Empired secures $52m contract

Perth-based IT business Empired has been contracted by the Victorian government to provide services to the state’s environmental authority.

Empired, which is in the middle of a takeover by French consulting company Capgemini, has been tasked with providing a range of modern digital managed services to the Environmental Protection Authority’s cloud platforms, networks and business applications.

Empired says it will use a ‘DevOps’ approach – a combination of software development and IT operations – to support ongoing, iterative enhancements to core systems, ensuring relevancy to changing business needs.

Work will continue throughout the year, with all core services expected to be in place by January.

Empired, led by managing director Russell Baskerville, said the contract would not require capital investment but that the business anticipated some operating expenses.

“We are proud to have been selected by the EPA to manage essentially all of their digital assets, which provide the platform for the department to operate and serve as the primary mechanism for the department’s provision of services to business and the community at large,” Mr Baskerville said.

“This contract will transform Empired’s Australian east coast operations, bringing credibility in delivering large, complex multi-year services.”

He said Empired’s east coast operations would contribute $47 million to the group’s overall revenue for the full 2021 financial year.

The EPA’s core activities include setting and reviewing environmental standards, guiding businesses, and managing works approvals.

Interim chief information officer Abhijit Gupta said the authority has made significant investments to improve its digital capability in recent years.

“I am excited about our partnership with Empired and look forward to leveraging this relationship to deliver high-quality technology solutions to the organisation,” he said.

Earlier this week, Empired announced it had received a takeover proposal from Capgemini Australia, which has offered to pay $1.35 in cash for every share held in the IT company.

The offer values Empired at $233 million.

Its directors who represent 5.8 per cent of Empired's issued capital support the deal and will seek shareholder approval at a meeting in late September.

The proposed takeover is scheduled to be completed in mid-November.

Shares in Empired were up 0.9 per cent at 11:53am today to trade at $1.32.