Mergers & Acquisitions : 24/06/09

INDIA INC'S 5 LARGEST US-CENTRIC DEALS IN 2 YEARS
The Economic Times

The year 2007 and the first few months of 2008 witnessed significant volumes in Indian outbound deals. Indian companies, which traditionally focused on organic growth or at best inorganic growth through domestic mergers and acquisitions (M&As), set foot in many international markets through acquisitions or businesses, and earned greater acceptance as global market players.

In a joint report on 'Direct investments in the US by Indian enterprises', Ernst & Young and FICCI have considered India's outbound US centric deals during the period April 2007 to March 2009 and analysed its trajectory and trends. During the two consecutive financial years, 2007-08 and 2008-09, Indian companies made 143 acquisitions across various sectors in the US. In 2007-08 alone, 94 deals were concluded (the value of the deal was disclosed in 55 cases and stood at a total of $4,432 million). The size of the deals was between the range of $0.8 million and $1,005 million.

In 2008-09, Indian companies were involved in 49 US-bound acquisitions. Of these, deal values were disclosed in 24 cases and their value totalled $960 million. The sizes of the deals were in the range of $0.70 million and $172 million.

1. Wipro acquires Infocrossing

Acquirer: Wipro Ltd
Target: Infocrossing Inc
Sector: Software
Date: August 2007
Deal Value: $548 million

Wipro Technologies, the IT services arm of Wipro Ltd, acquired Infocrossing Inc, a US-based provider of IT infrastructure management, enterprise application and business process outsourcing services. The acquisition of an acknowledged industry leader broadened the data center and mainframe capabilities of Wipro Technologies to uniquely position it in the remote infrastructure management space.

2. Firstsource Solutions buys MedAssist Holding

Acquirer: Firstsource Solutions Ltd
Target: MedAssist Holding Inc
Sector: Commercial Services
Date: August 2007
Deal Value: $330 million

Firstsource Solutions Ltd acquired MedAssist Holding Inc for $330 million. At that time, Firstsource said in a statement that this acquisition presents significant synergies for the company. It already has a presence in the US healthcare BPO space and now would enter the provider side (hospitals end) of healthcare BPO services. MedAssist, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, has more than 1,400 employees and is a pan-American provider of revenue cycle management services to the healthcare industry.

3. Reliance Comm acquires Yipes Communications

Acquirer: Reliance Communications Ltd
Target: Yipes Communications Inc
Sector: Telecommunications
Date: July 2007
Deal Value: $300 million

The acquisition of US-based Yipes Holdings, the leading provider of managed ethernet services, by Reliance Communications was the latter's first major overseas acquisition. At that time, Yipes, headquartered in San Francisco, owned over 22,000 route km of fibre across 14 US metros, which covered around 40 percent of the total US datacom market. Yipes is present also in London, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

4. 3i Infotech buys Regulus Group

Acquirer: 3i Infotech Ltd
Target: Regulus Group Llc
Date: April 2008
Deal Value (USD Million): 80

Global information technology company 3i Infotech in April 2008 announced the acquisition of US-based Regulus Group and its subsidiaries, an independent remittance and document processing services provider. The cost of acquisition was $80 million with an additional consideration of up to $20 million, which was slated to be linked to performance parameters.

5. Accentia Technologies acquires DenMed Transcription

Acquirer: Accentia Technologies Ltd
Target: DenMed Transcription Service
Date: December 2007
Deal Value (USD Million): 66

Accentia Technologies acquired Oregon-based medical transcription services provider DenMed Transcription. DenMed Transcription was acquired for $66 million.

6. Accentia Technologies buys GSR Physicians Billing/GSR Systems

Acquirer: Accentia Technologies Ltd
Target: GSR Physicians Billing Inc/ GSR Systems
Date: July 2007
Deal Value (USD Million): 63

Mumbai-Based business process outsourcing company Accentia Technologies acquired US-based healthcare BPO companies. It bought Florida-based GSR Physician Billing Inc and GSR Systems Inc and Oregon-based medical transcription services provider DenMed Inc in cash-cum-stock deals.

7. Mascon Global buys Jass & Associates Inc/SDG Corporation

Acquirer: Mascon Global Ltd
Target: Jass & Associated Inc/SDG Corporation
Date: March 2008
Deal Value (USD Million): 55

IT services provider Mascon Global acquired two US-based companies for $55 million. The board of directors approved the acquisition of Jass & Associates Inc and SDG Corporation for a consideration of $55 million, of which $35 million was paid in cash and the remaining through issue of global depository receipts (GDRs).

BT, CERT IN SECURITY MOU
New Delhi
The Times of India

British Telecom (BT), a providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries, and Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), an organization established under the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance the overall security of the computing environment in the country.

The MOU was signed by Sudhir Narang, BT India Managing Director, and Director, CERT-In, Dr. Gulshan Rai.

Commenting on the significance of the MOU with CERT-In, Sudhir Narang, BT India Managing Director said, “BT is committed to help organizations around the world and in India secure their information which is their most critical asset. The MOU is a significant step forward in this direction. Both BT and Cert-In recognize that along with the benefits of increased computer connectivity, there are a host of new risks with computer hackers exploiting the vulnerabilities in the software and computer system.”

As a part of the MOU, both BT and CERT-In have identified a common goal to work together to address the increasingly complex problems associated with computer security and computer-related crime in India. The scope of the MOU includes technical co-operation and information exchange, knowledge sharing, emergency response and coordination, executive information exchange and training as well as customer education and outreach.

EDUCOMP, UK CO IN JV
New Delhi
The Economic Times (Mumbai edition)

Education software solutions provider Educomp has entered into a 50:50 JV with the UK-based publishing house Pearson, said a person with direct knowledge of the development. The JV firm will offer vocational education business leveraging Educomp’s learning network and Pearson’s education content. Pearson would be pumping in $17.5 million in the JV and an agreement has been signed in Singapore on Tuesday, a person familiar with the development said.