Covansys looks for acquisitions

By siliconindia staff writer   |   Monday, 17 May 2004, 19:30 IST
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CHENNAI: Covansys Corp, the US-based software services and solutions provider with a strong offshore base in India, is looking for acquisitions that would compliment its existing service offerings and supplement its geographic reach. “It has to be a best-fit acquisition,” said Covansys India president & CEO Mr K Subrhamaniam. “Covansys is not into business domains like embedded software and telecom. We will prefer companies which are focused on these domains by offering IT solutions and services.” Covansys also believes that a right acquisition should expand its footprint in markets like Japan and European countries. The target company should also have a global annuity business, with a manpower strength of 400-800. “We looked at a few companies, but none of them met our criteria,” said Mr Subrhamaniam. The $380-million Covansys has a total of 3,200 people in the country, with 2,500 in Chennai and the balance in Mumbai and Bangalore. The company also has three development centres in the US. “The future growth for Covansys will be largely driven by the growth in the offshore centres. During the next six months, we will be adding 800 people, and another 1,000 people in the following six months,” he said. For the next phase of growth, the company seems to have identified Bangalore as its base. It has already tied up for a space of 2,50,000 sq ft on lease to set up a software development facility. Covansys’ recent deal with Fidelity National Financial (FNF) is one of the factors which will put the company’s growth in the fast track. FNF, a leading global provider of technology solutions and processing services to FIs and the realty industry, is picking up a stake of 29% in Covansys. It has also promised a business of $150 million over five years, for Covansys.