SunGard mulls acquisition in India

Having acquired 160 companies globally since inception in 1982, Pennsylvania-based software and services firm, SunGard, today said that it was looking for an acquisition in India.     

"We are always looking for opprotunities for that will help us to expand our portfolio solution and acquire incremental customer base," SunGard India's Chief Operating Officer Akila Krishnakumar said here.     

The largest privately-held business software and services company on the Forbes list of private businesses, SunGard, had recorded $5.6 billion revenue in 2008. Only two per cent of that came from the Asia-Pacific region.     

SunGard provides software and processing solutions for financial services, higher education and the public sector.     

Krishnakumar said that the acquisition in India would be in the areas SunGard has expertise, but did not divulge any further details.     

"We are actively looking for acquisition. When it will happen and what will be the deal size -these are all difficult to answer now," she said.

SunGard entered into the Indian market in 1983 and has set up two global delivery centres in Pune and Bangalore. It also started a sales office in Mumbai recently and appointed a Managing Director, Atul Sareen, to steer sales in the financial services domain.     

"We will focus on all the areas we have presence in financial services sector like banking, insurance and welath management. We are in discussion with our prospecting clients and hope to share with you some developments in near future," Sareen said.     

SunGard employs around 2,400 people in India, which comprises 62 per cent of its total headcount in the Asia Pacific region. The headcount in India is likely to go past the 3,000-mark this year.      

Krishnakumar said that the company was also planning to sell other products in India in the coming days.