Cognizant buys UBS captive unit for $75 mn

Nasdaq-listed information technology firm Cognizant is set to acquire UBS India Service Centre (UBS ISC), a captive (offshoring centre) of the world’s leading financial firm, UBS, for $75 million (around Rs 350 crore).

Cognizant, as a part of the deal, has also entered into a five-year services agreement with UBS. The company expects to receive an aggregate of $442 million (around Rs 2,000 crore) of revenue under the Services Agreement over the tenure of the deal, according to Cognizant’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The acquisition is expected to close around the end of 2009, according to a press statement. The ISC provides business process outsourcing in the areas of securities operations, compliance, finance and presentations & design. It also has established knowledge process outsourcing capabilities in research and analytics, as well as strong IT infrastructure management services. Cognizant will continue to provide UBS with these services.

Swiss-headquartered UBS Group provides wealth management services to private, corporate and institutional clients globally.

Since ISC was established in 2006, said UBS on its intranet, it has grown rapidly to over 2,000 employees and established itself as a service provider, with excellent day-to-day working relationships with UBS on-shore teams and businesses. “The equities team in the ISC has become a valuable and critical part of our Global Equities Team,” said Daniel Coleman, Global Head of Equities, Investment Bank.

The acquisition will deepen Cognizant’s financial services’ domain knowledge and enhance its capabilities to provide integrated services across consulting and technology, the release added.

Last month, the company had announced the acquisition of Pepperweed Advisors, the IT consulting services division of US-based Pepperweed Consulting, for an undisclosed sum.

For UBS, the sale of the India Service Centre marks the next stage in the development of the UBS offshoring and outsourcing strategy. In recent years, the availability and maturity of third-party outsourced services has grown significantly. UBS has therefore decided to adopt a buy rather than a build strategy for its outsourcing needs, said the company in a statement. This will take advantage of the scale and expertise of third parties to improve efficiency, while reducing costs and increasing flexibility.

Meanwhile, the Poland Service Centre, based in Krakow, will continue to be owned by UBS and will expand to deliver services formerly provided by the India Service Centre that cannot be provided by third parties for legal, regulatory or business reasons.

“This outsourcing transaction will further improve UBS’ efficiency and flexibility,” said Ulrich Körner, Group Chief Operating Officer of UBS. “As part of our emphasis on cost management, we are continually assessing our outsourcing and offshoring options. Both will continue to be employed as a way to help the firm operate and grow more efficiently, as well as to help manage costs, facilitate innovation and improve processes.”