India Inc:
Indian software services provider Wipro Limited has set its sights on international deals between $50 million and $300 million over the next 18 months. It·plans to add intellectual property and software to boost profits in a quest for around $1bn from overseas acquisitions.The country’s third-largest IT services firm relies mostly on an internal mergers and acquisitions (M&As) team to hunt for candidates, rather than using investment banks.
Wipro chairman Azim Premji has stressed that the team, led by son Rishad Premji, is working on creating rather than just reacting to deals across the globe.
Wipro offers software development and business process outsourcing (BPO) services, as well as consulting and product engineering.
According to company chief, Wipro is looking for specialised companies in analytics, cloud computing and mobile communications, and is focused on industries across healthcare, financial services, energy and utilities, and retail.
In a recent interview in New York, Premji said: “It’s a good time to get a decent price. In a slowdown market, people are a little more hesitant to pursue acquisitions.’’
The Bangalore-based company’s M&A plans fall in line with other bigger rivals, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys, which have also revealed plans to make major acquisitions in Europe and other new markets to reduce their dependence on the US market.
Global IT services spending growth may slow to 1.3 per cent this year, from 6.5 per cent in 2011, as the West struggles with a financial slowdown, according to research group Gartner Inc.
