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Kerala software company acquires Avient from Honeywell
Friday, 24 October 2003, 19:30 IST
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala-based IBS Software Services, dealing with aviation software, has acquired Avient Technologies, a business unit of Honeywell International, at an undisclosed amount.
Announcing this Friday, IBS Chairman V.K. Mathews gave enough hints to suggest that this was one of the big time acquisitions by any Indian company.
Honeywell acquired Avient, previously known as ICL Airline Systems, at $10 million in 2000 and then invested $5 million.
"I would rather keep the figure of the acquisition to myself but we have order targets to the tune of $5 million to meet before coming March. In the next year, we have targets of $10 million," said Mathews, adding that the Avient headquarters in Britain would be the European base office of IBS.
Headquartered in London, Avient Technologies was conceived by Honeywell International as its Global Centre of Excellence for Flight Operations.
Avient specialises in providing airline and airport operations systems and solutions. Its customer list includes Air Canada, Emirates, and the Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
The Technopark based IBS is just the second IT company in Kerala and the 19th in the country to be assessed against Level 5 of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM).
According to Mathews, IBS has been on an investment spree in the last financial year with an additional investment of 
250 million, taking total investment over the 500 million mark. It has 400 engineers.
Avient Managing Director Peter Cefai described IBS as a company with an excellent delivery consistency. He was confident that the acquisition would only strengthen Avient in becoming a world-class supplier.
"Post 9/11, the aviation industry has been about renegotiating the cost base and are working out a new cost strategy and that is one reason why IBS has succeeded," said Cefai.
Following the new deal, aviation officials across the world, including from Air Canada, are to arrive early next year to visit IBS here, added Cefai.
IBS has been in the news recently for signing several new contracts, including a contract for developing a new generation cargo handling system for Mercator, the IT Company of the Emirates Airlines Group, at a cost of $4 million.
Prior to this, IBS had won a prestigious contract with the Department of Sea Ports and Customs, Government of Sharjah, for implementing a complete port management solution, iPort(tm) for the ports managed by it.
During March 2002, IBS had entered into a $1.5 million contract for the supply of transportation and logistics solution for Gulf Share, a consortium of oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico.
Source: IANS
250 million, taking total investment over the 500 million mark. It has 400 engineers.
Avient Managing Director Peter Cefai described IBS as a company with an excellent delivery consistency. He was confident that the acquisition would only strengthen Avient in becoming a world-class supplier.
"Post 9/11, the aviation industry has been about renegotiating the cost base and are working out a new cost strategy and that is one reason why IBS has succeeded," said Cefai.
Following the new deal, aviation officials across the world, including from Air Canada, are to arrive early next year to visit IBS here, added Cefai.
IBS has been in the news recently for signing several new contracts, including a contract for developing a new generation cargo handling system for Mercator, the IT Company of the Emirates Airlines Group, at a cost of $4 million.
Prior to this, IBS had won a prestigious contract with the Department of Sea Ports and Customs, Government of Sharjah, for implementing a complete port management solution, iPort(tm) for the ports managed by it.
During March 2002, IBS had entered into a $1.5 million contract for the supply of transportation and logistics solution for Gulf Share, a consortium of oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico.
Source: IANS