Local government management solutions vendor, Civica, has acquired Fujitsu's Australian authorities business for an undisclosed sum.

Fujitsu executive general manager for enterprise application services, Jean-Pierre Deruddere, said the decision to sell off the business unit tied into its plans to focus more on systems integration and implementation packages.

"We've been playing with the idea for a while," he said. "There aren't that many parties to look at because you want a company that has the right experience and can guarantee a future for our clients and employees."

According to Deruddere, the authorities business only represented 2 per cent of its enterprise applications services business. Civica managing director, Peter Anderson, said it had been in tentative discussions with Fujitsu over the past few months.

"Civica has consolidated its position in the local government market and we've demonstrated that we're continuing to focus on that area," he said. "We're specialists in this market and Fujitsu was keen to position their customers with a strong supplier in that area."

All 22 Fujitsu local authorities business staff will be kept on-board, bringing Civica's headcount to over 320.

"Specialist local government staff aren't easy to get and the acquisition presented a capability that complements us nicely," Anderson said.

As a part of the acquisition, Civica will add more than 60 customers onto its books, intellectual property rights to Fujitsu's local authority software applications and associated assets.

Fujitsu will be integrated into the Civica brand. Anderson said the company will be expanding its operations to include Fujitsu's premises in Orange, NSW. Later on this month, the company will also consolidate its two Sydney offices to establish new regional headquarters in the suburb of Mascot.

Anderson hinted he was keen to further strengthen Civica's position in the local government market through further acquisitions.

"The organisations need to be complementary with our software functionality and provide similar solutions," he said.