Infosys inks 7-yr deal with CMA CGM Group

India's second largest software services firm Infosys has said it has signed a seven-year pact with French container shipping major CMA CGM Group.
The partnership will simplify and transform CMA CGM's IT applications and improve customer service experience.
As part of the agreement, Infosys will open a Delivery Center (DC) in Marseille, Infosys said in a statement.
"Infosys will also acquire CMA CGM's Innovation and Delivery Centre in Dubai, UAE, expanding its footprint in the Middle East," the statement added.
In a BSE filing, Infosys said the approval of Dubai Creative Clusters Authority will be required for the consummation of the transaction and that it is expected to close during the third quarter of fiscal 2018.

The cost of acquisition would be USD 1, as per the filing.

Rajesh Krishnamurthy, President and Head of Europe at Infosys, said the "hyper-competitive" shipping and logistics industry needs to simplify the technology footprint and leverage next-generation technologies.
Infosys is keen to leverage its logistics industry experience and assist CMA CGM with its business transformation journey, he added.
"Our ambition is to create a competitive advantage by offering our customers state-of-the-art technologies. The partnership with Infosys is key to attaining this objective," CMA CGM chief executive officer Rodolphe Saade said.
In a separate statement, Infosys said its subsidiary -- Infosys Finacle -- has partnered with Niki.Ai, a fintech start-up that offers chat-based commerce solutions.

With this partnership, Finacle solution suite will be available with Niki.Ai's chat-based virtual assistant - Niki, the statement said.
This offering will enable banks to offer its customers a virtual banking assistant for shopping products and services, it added.