Capgemini eyes buys to beef up U.S. position - report

PARIS, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Capgemini (CAPP.PA) is planning a series of acquisitions to strengthen its position in the U.S. market, its chief executive told the Financial Times.

Capgemini is the largest European IT services company by sales, but would like to join the top five U.S. technology services providers, alongside Accenture (ACN.N) and IBM (IBM.N).

"We are number 19 in the U.S. IT services market and ... we must be in the top five to be credible," Paul Hermelin said.

Capgemini would also consider purchases in Asia and in new technologies, he said.

On Thursday, Capgemini lowered its 2009 sales outlook after posting a worst-than-expected 7.3 percent fall in third-quarter sales. The group kept its 2009 profitability target due to tight cost control. [ID:nL5125267] (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by David Holmes)