Infosys to buy Britain's Axon Group for 753 million dollars

Infosys to buy Britain's Axon Group for 753 million dollars New Delhi - India's Infosys Technologies Ltd announced Monday it has agreed to buy Britain-based Axon Group Plc in a cash deal valued at 407.1 million pounds
(753.1 million dollars).

Infosys, the country's second-largest software company, said it expected the deal to be completed by November.

"This strategic combination of our groups will accelerate the realization of our common aspiration - that of becoming the most respected provider of business transformational services in the global marketplace," said Infosys Chief Executive Officer Kris Gopalkrishnan.

Axon provides consultancy services to multinational companies that have chosen SAP as their strategic enterprise platform. It has about 2,000 employees.

Founded in 1994, Axon has operations in Britain, US, Malaysia and Australia. The firm reported a net profit of 37.4 million dollars on a total revenue of 378.3 million dollars.

In a statement, Infosys said the acquisition will "accelerate the achievement of some of Infosys' current strategic corporate objectives, including the continued expansion of consulting capabilities."

Indian outsourcing firms have been expanding across the world, particularly in Europe, to reduce their dependence on the US market.

Market analysts predict that an increase in the value of the rupee against the dollar and an economic slowdown in the US are likely to adversely impact Indian software companies whose main earnings have been from outsourced operations from the US.

Last month, Infosys reported a 21-per-cent rise in quarterly profits, beating forecasts beating forecasts.

Infosys provides IT solutions to industries ranging from automobiles to aerospace, banking, insurance, retail and transportation. It has over 94,000 employees in 40 offices worldwide.

The Bangalore-based company, whose revenues were recorded at 130,000 dollars in 1981-82, one year after it was set up by seven software engineers, now has revenues in excess of 4 billion dollars. (dpa)

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