IBM-Synnex deal gets approval from Competition Commission

Technology giant IBM's proposed deal to sell its customer relationship management BPO operations to Synnex has received the green signal from the Competition Commission.
Approving the deal, Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it does not raise anti-competitive concerns.
The proposed deal includes acquisition of the customer relationship management business process outsourcing (CRM BPO) operations of IBM by Synnex Corporation.
In India, the deal would lead to acquisition of IBM Daksh Business Process Service Private Ltd along with certain assets, employees and customer contracts serviced by IBM in the country.
In an order dated January 30, Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that "the proposed combination is not likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India".

The fair trade regulator observed that the IT BPO industry in India is relatively fragmented and also characterised by the presence of several large players.

Synnex provides services in IT distribution, supply chain management, contract assembly and business process outsourcing (BPO) and has presence in India through its wholly owned subsidiary Concentrix Technologies.
"It is observed that while a substantial portion of the revenues of IBM Daksh is derived from exports, the revenues of Concentrix from the domestic market are also insignificant," CCI said in the order.
Synnex which had entered into the deal with IBM on September 10 2013 had approached CCI for its approval in October, last year.