MUMBAI: Several IBM teams have been travelling the length and breadth of the country over the past few months, looking at various cities and the right model for expansion. These IBM teams have also been meeting the management of several Indian companies, including Mastek, MphasiS, Satyam and Zensar. This has also sparked off rumours that these companies could be likely take-over candidates for IBM. However, IBM claims it is not on an acquisition spree and the promoters of these companies say they are not willing to sell. Ostensibly, the objective of these meetings seems to be to understand the offshore model of these companies; and, more importantly their recruitment plans. It seems that IBM has now decided it will scale up its operations in Kolkata and Bangalore. IBM Global Services (IBMGS) inherited the Kolkata centre after its global acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). IBM’s official spokesperson in the country refused to comment. The Indian operations of PwC are being integrated into IBMGS. PwC has an offshore software delivery centre in Kolkata, which is now merged with IBMGS. IBMGS plans to scale up to about 6,000 people by March ‘04, and further, to about 10,000 people by next year. Currently, it employs about 4,500 people. The company is also said to have acquired a few hundred thousand square feet of real estate space in Bangalore for its recruitment plans.