Seisma Group has announced its acquisition of New Zealand IT professional services company Fronde, becoming the sole shareholder.

Growing to a now 500+ personnel entity, Fronde and Seisma will be partnering to deliver a broader range of services to the New Zealand and Australian markets. 

The company says Seisma and Fronde will continue servicing clients across New Zealand and Australia, with a forward focus on growing the Seisma Group's presence in New Zealand.

The acquisition will allow for a wider breadth of services and more opportunities to service government, utility and enterprise clients across the New Zealand marketplace.

Seisma chief executive officer Robert Hogeland says that part of Seisma's growth objective has always been to secure a strategic investment to strengthen its presence in New Zealand.

"This acquisition will allow our combined group opportunities to be part of a network of IT professionals who can collaborate on projects across expanding geographies and capability offerings," he says.

"Fronde's exceptional management team, workforce and core capabilities are highly complementary to Seisma's," says Hogeland. 

"They will increase our presence in New Zealand from a group of 14 to more than 100 consultants."

According to Hogeland, the breadth of modernisation, integration, lifecycle management and digital transformation services Fronde provides integrates perfectly with the professional services offered by existing Seisma Group practices.

"Similarly, Seisma augments the existing Fronde capabilities with a team of 400 consultants across strategy, engineering, cloud, Salesforce and delivery services," he says. 

"Seisma is investing in the current Fronde team's incredible potential and expertise."

Fronde chief executive officer Jason Delamore adds that with 30 years of history in the IT services market, it was important to find the right organisation interested in partnering with or acquiring Fronde. 

"The strategic fit had to be right for our long-standing shareholders and the combined strength and capabilities of both companies needed to create long-term value for our people and our customers," he says. 

"It became quickly apparent that the Seisma + Fronde combination was the best opportunity to realise that value and we are all excited about the acquisition potential."

Hogeman says Seisma is excited at the prospect of increasing the breadth of services in New Zealand, providing opportunities for consultants and customers on both sides of the Tasman.

Fronde was founded in 1992 as Synergy before changing its name to Fronde several years later. In 2020 it sold its NetSuite business to Australia's OnlineOne. 

Seisma has acquired a number of partners, most recently Australian Salesforce partner Smartapps, one of the largest privately-owned Salesforce partners in Australia.  

There will be no immediate changes to operational activity in New Zealand.