IT sector on the move: Infosys signs deal to buy Fluido for $76 million

The acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of fiscal 2019, said Infosys

The country’s second largest software services firm Infosys on Friday announced an agreement to acquire Nordic region’s salesforce advisor firm Fluido for around euro 65 million ($76 million). This buy will make it the second acquisition for the IT giant this year.

In April, Infosys had acquired WongDoody Holding Company, a US-based digital creative and consumer insights agency, for around $75 million.

Fluido also becomes the second entity to be acquired under the leadership of Salil Parekh, who took over as the CEO of the Bengaluru-headquartered IT firm in January this year. “The acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of the 2019 financial year, subject to customary closing conditions,” said the company in an exchange filing. This acquisition adds to Infosys’ salesforce enterprise cloud services solution portfolio and enhances its ability to provide clients a cloud-first transformation, said the company.

Founded in 2010, Fluido is one of the largest and longest tenured independent salesforce platinum consulting partners in Europe and an authorised salesforce training delivery partner in the Nordic region. With offices in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Slovakia, Fluido will increase Infosys’ presence across the Nordic region. The company already has a significant presence in the European continent with around 6,000 people working in the EMEA region.

Ravi Kumar, president and deputy COO, Infosys, said, “This acquisition demonstrates Infosys’ commitment towards the salesforce ecosystem to address client’s digital priorities. It is also aligned to our efforts to invest in local capabilities in the regions in which we operate.”

As big IT firms, including Infosys, saw a decline in revenue from legacy businesses, they are building up digital capabilities both through the organic and inorganic routes.

Infosys, for instance, had registered nine acquisitions since 2008 with an eye to improving its digital offerings. It acquired London-based product design and customer experience firm Brilliant Basics for around $10 million in August, 2017. 

In 2016, the company had invested in three entities – UNSILO, TidalScale and Waterline Data Science.

Similarly, in 2015, Infosys did three big acquisitions under the leadership of its then CEO, Vishal Sikka. While it acquired Panaya for $200 million, it bought mobile-based tech solutions provider Skava for $120 million. The IT major also acquired tech consulting firm Noah Consulting for $70 million in the same year.

After the acquisitions, Infy had also faced difficulty in extracting value in some of the firms. For instance, it had lost 44 per cent of its investment in Panaya by the end of March 2018, leading to a decision of putting both Panaya and Skava on the block. Infosys had a cash reserve of around Rs 200 billion by the end of the last financial year.