Industry Updates - IT Sector

21 Mar 2011: Capgemini leads race for Headstrong buyout, deal pegged at $500 mn

Capgemini, one of the world's largest IT services companies, is in advanced talks to buy a controlling stake in mid-sized IT services provider Headstrong from the founders of the company and private equity investor Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.

IBM and Hewlett Packard-EDS have also submitted preliminary bids for a controlling stake. Capgemini's bid values Headstrong at close to $500 million and could make it a clear front-runner in the competitive bidding process.

20 Mar 2011: Wipro, Infosys, TCS recall staff from Bahrain over unrest

Many Indian IT companies have decided to evacuate their employees from Bahrain, rocked by protests for several weeks. There are around 350,000 Indians in Bahrain. Wipro, Infosys, TCS and other companies have a substantial presence in the country. 

17 Mar 2011: HCL Infosystems bags Rs 300 cr deal from Indian Air Force

HCL Infosystems said it has bagged an order from the Indian Air Force to deploy Wideband CDMA-based portable wireless network at a cost of over Rs 300 crore.

The WCDMA network will provide backbone connectivity and ensure video interactivity for video calls, cross connectivity with other communication platform like IP-based communication within the Air Force Network.

17 Mar 2011: HCL Tech to send team to Japan; employees can work from home  

HCL Technologies said it will send a senior level delegation to quake-hit Japan to support its employees, and the Indian software services firm will also give employees an option to work from alternate locations. Over 1000 HCL engineers work on Japanese projects, according to its website.

16 Mar 2011: Tech Mahindra inaugurates cloud competency lab in Pune

Tech Mahindra said that it has inaugurated a cloud competency lab at its Hinjewadi facility in Pune. Tech Mahindra's strategic intent is to be cloud advisor, enabler and manager in the cloud services eco-system, the company said. This will enable its clients to choose from best-of-breed technologies and integrate them to meet their business objective of growing revenue on cloud-based services. 

16 Mar 2011: 3i Infotech to sell US subsidiary Regulus for $100 mn

3i Infotech is all set to sell its US subsidiary, Regulus for $100 mn.  The deal is expected to be closed within the next 3 months. 3i Infotech has roped in UBS Securities to advise the sale of the US asset. 

3i Infotech had acquired Regulus, a transaction processing BPO 2 years ago for a consideration of $80 mn. The company is now looking at selling the subsidiary on concerns of growth slowdown as well as debt pressure on the balance sheet.

15 Mar 2011: TCS, Mahindra Satyam bag multi-million dollar deals

Tata Consultancy Services and Satyam have announced a large, multiyear, multimillion dollar deal. Tata Consultancy Services said it has bagged a IT infrastructure deal from Dutch technical consultancy firm Royal Haskoning. The scope of the project covers end-to-end IT infrastructure services, which will be provided from TCS' global delivery centres in the Netherlands, Hungary and India.

15 Mar 2011: Sequoia capital to mentor start-ups

In a move that underscores a renewed focus on early stage investing Sequoia Capital India is collaborating with online portal Pluggd.in to identify and mentor winners at a monthly contest for technology start-ups that begins this month. For the marquee investment firm, this marks a return to the early and growth capital investment mode favoured by its global parent. It comes weeks after the exit of the India-based founding team that quit, to set up a separate fund to invest in publicly listed enterprises.

 

In 2010, investors pumped in $ 446 million into early stage venture capital deals compared with $ 320 million in the previous year according to research firm Venture Intelligence. This year, a slew of investors and mentors are heightening their focus on India's expanding early stage ecosystem. Mumbai Angels founder Sasha Mirchandani is floating a new seed fund Kae Capital for very early stage deals.

14 Mar 2011: Educomp bags Rs 67.93 cr order from Maharashtra govt. 

Educomp said its ICT division 'Edureach' has bagged an order worth Rs 67.93 crore from Maharashtra government for implementing its solutions. Educomp Edureach has received the Letter of Intent (LoI) on March 9, 2011 from the Government of Maharashtra for implementation of ICT@Schools Project - Phase 2 in two regions, Nasik and Latur.

10 Mar 2011: Tech Mahindra opens tech center in Germany 

Tech Mahindra said it has opened a new development centre in Germany to service clients in the country and central Europe. Europe contributes about 54 per cent of the company's revenue, with Germany ranking second within the continent after the United Kingdom.

 

9 Mar 2011: Cognizant soars in US market 

Over the last year, IT major Cognizant's stocks have outperformed the American depositary receipts (ADR) of top tier Indian peers Infosys and Wipro on the US markets by a big margin. Between March 5, 2010, and March 4, 2011, Cognizant stocks on Nasdaq rose 55% to $76.32.

9 Mar 2011: HCL Infosystems bags IT order from Punjab and Sind Bank  

HCL Infosystems said it has received an order from Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) to provide smart card-based solutions in over 1,500 villages across the country for an undisclosed amount.

The partnership aims to facilitate the provision of smart card-based technology solutions for financial inclusion, besides engaging and managing business correspondents deployed in unbanked villages allotted to PSB.