French IT consulting company Capgemini SE increased its acquisition offer for engineering consulting services provider Altran Technologies SA to €14.50 per share from €14 per share, after refusing to raise the price late in November 2019.

Capgemini said the price was its "best and final" offer, and gave Altran shareholders until Jan. 22 to tender their shares to the offer. Regardless of the outcome, the company said it would not make a new tender offer for at least 18 months.

If the offer fails, Capgemini said it would look for "other strategic opportunities" while maintaining an 11.43% stake in Altran to be managed as a financial asset with no operational impact to Capgemini.

The proposed deal was expected to be completed by the end of 2019, but it faced legal hurdles, with Altran's minority shareholders reportedly raising concerns about Capgemini's offer.