Schlumberger announced on February 9, 2001, that it had agreed to buy Bull CP8, the smart-card unit of France’s Groupe Bull. The announced price was about $325 million, although contemporary coverage and Schlumberger’s later accounting filing reported different figures. CP8 made microprocessor-based smart cards and related systems for banking, mobile communications and network security.
What Schlumberger agreed to buy
Bull CP8 was Groupe Bull’s smart-card technology unit. Schlumberger described CP8 as a leading smart-card technology provider in its fiscal 2000 annual report. Its SEC filing later characterized CP8 as a market leader in microprocessor-based smart cards and associated systems applications for banking, mobile communications and network security.
The acquisition brought an established card-technology portfolio into Schlumberger’s existing smart-card and information-technology activities. Schlumberger was best known as an oil-field-services company, but was also expanding its information-technology business. CP8’s banking, telecom and network-security applications fit that broader technology expansion.
How much did Schlumberger pay?
The reported transaction value depends on the source and context; the figures should not be treated as interchangeable:
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| Figure | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Approximately $325 million | Announced value of the agreed acquisition | Schlumberger’s fiscal 2000 annual report |
| $324 million | Contemporary press report | Forbes, 2001 |
| $313 million | Acquisition price recorded in the later accounting filing | Schlumberger’s SEC quarterly filing, 2001 |
Accordingly, the headline figure is best understood as the announced approximate value. The accounting filing’s lower recorded amount is a separate reported figure; the available records do not establish the detailed mechanics behind the difference.
When was the acquisition completed?
Schlumberger announced the definitive agreement on February 9, 2001. Its SEC filing records the acquisition in March 2001. The available information establishes those announcement and accounting-record dates, but does not detail regulatory conditions or the precise closing mechanics.
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What happened to Bull’s smart-card business afterward?
The documented transaction was Schlumberger’s acquisition of Bull CP8. The available sources do not provide a reliable timeline of later asset dispositions or explain the subsequent ownership or product history of every CP8 business and asset. It is therefore safer to describe the 2001 acquisition and its stated scope than to infer a continuous later corporate history from the deal announcement alone.
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