Why Vengroff sold its AR unit to Capgemini

One of the largest companies on the Gulf Coast has gotten smaller — part of a plan to get bigger than ever before one day soon.

The firm, Sarasota-based Vengroff, Williams & Associates, sold its European and Asian accounts receivables outsourcing unit in late November to Paris-based Capgemini, an IT services conglomerate. Capgemini paid $33 million for the 300-employee business unit, known in the industry as an order to cash division. A multibillion-dollar firm, Capgemini also bought a minority stake in a VWA software business.

“We didn't want to be in the outsourcing business (in Europe) anymore,” VWA founder Harvey Vengroff tells Coffee Talk. “They wanted to be in the business we were in.”