Indian tech giants are on a shopping spree in the continent of Europe. Unfazed by the volatility in the market due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the homegrown success stories of India’s Industrial revolution are turning a corner and assimilating the European firms to leave a bigger and wider footprint in the Northern Hemisphere.
According to media reports, Bengaluru based software behemoth Wipro will be acquiring the IT units of German firm Metro AG in a multi-year technology transformation deal with a revenue potential of $1 billion.
It is being anticipated that Wipro will be acquiring IT assets of Metro AG across Germany, Romania, and India, all whilst assimilating the 1,300 employees of the European tech company. The multi-year deal is expected to generate $700 Mn in the first five years, and may likely extend by a further four years, the statement said.
This is Wipro’s second acquisition as early in July this year, Wipro had also acquired Belgium-based 4C, one of the largest Salesforce partners in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
Wipro already has a well-established Salesforce business in the Americas, Japan and Australia, which was reinforced with the Appirio acquisition in 2016. As part of the €68m deal, 4C will be consolidated as part of Wipro’s Salesforce practice, which provides solutions globally around multiple Salesforce clouds and its ecosystem of products.
Through this steal of a deal, Wipro is planning a major assault on the European Salesforce services market.
“This acquisition significantly strengthens Wipro’s position as a leading provider of Salesforce solutions in these markets,” the company had said in a statement at the time of acquisition.
Recently, TCS announced two strategic acquisitions centred around strengthening its play in the Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI) vertical. Even in November, it had acquired Postbank Systems AG, the technology services unit of Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank AG to expand in Germany and strengthen its growth outlook. The technology-based in Germany is expected to help TCS expand its presence in the European nation.
Unlike big tech giants which usually drop the excess baggage of employees by giving them severance packages when an acquisition takes place, the Indian IT giants are ensuring that the employees do not suffer. In addition to acquiring 100 per cent of the shares of Postbank Systems, TCS also announced that the 1,500 employees of Postbank Systems will become part of TCS.
In the same month, TCS said it will acquire certain assets and employees of Pramerica Systems Ireland from insurance firm Prudential Financial Inc (PFI). The deal also allows TCS to expand its nearshore capabilities as it will serve other customers as well in Ireland, the UK, Europe and the United States.
“Ireland is uniquely positioned to play a leading role in the digital economy. This key investment deepens our relationship with PFI and gives us a new delivery capability in Ireland with specialized expertise, that significantly strengthens our ability to meet the growth and transformation needs of our customers globally,” said K Krithivasan, President – Banking, Financial Services and Insurance, TCS after the finalization of the deal.
Since the turn of the century, Indian IT companies have carved a separate identity for themselves. After developing and prospering in the domestic market, 2020 has given the fillip to these companies to take a much more aggressive expansion approach in Europe and beyond, and so far, it looks like the gamble is paying off.
