HTMT to spend $200 M for acquisitions
By agencies   |   Wednesday, 14 December 2005, 20:30 IST
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BANGALORE: Outsourcing major Hinduja TMT (HTMT) plans to spend about $200 million on acquisitions to fuel next level of growth, a top company executive said. The ITeS/BPO player is actively pursuing buyout targets in the U.K. and North America and “we would definitely put in upwards of $100-150 million,” HTMT’s Managing Director K Thiagarajan said. He said the company is looking at both large players as well as smaller ones with right fit. “We are not bound by size-limitations. We are very active on the acquisition radar. I don’t think funding is a fundamental constraint for us,” Thiagarajan added. The company has close to 3.5 percent stake in Hutch. Once we divest that, we will put that money back into core business. HTMT is waiting for the right price to off-load, which sources said could fetch the firm in excess of $350 million. He said, “The company is keen to ‘unlock’ value in the media venture in which it has 62 percent stake. They are looking to make media business into a separate division.” In company’s total revenue, Software development/IT services contribute less than five percent now and its intended to be grown to 15-20 percent as quickly as possible as part of de-risking strategy, Thiagarajan said, adding, “We are very well poised for acquisitions because the company has got the financial strength. Some of the investments that we have made in the past are going to give us very high money back into the company.”

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