Infinite Computer buys US firm

Infinite Computer Solutions, a Bangalore-based IT solutions and services provider, has acquired US-based Comnet International, a telecommunication focussed outsourced product development and IT services company headquartered in Chicago.

The acquisition is part of Infinite's plan to give thrust to the telecom solutions centric segment as a key vertical focus area.

Although Infinite is tight-lipped about the size of the acquisition, market sources say it may be in the range of $20 million.

Comnet recorded a revenue of $9.4 million in 2006-07, joins Infinite's fold with a team of about 350 professionals based out of its development centres in the US and Chennai, and clientele that includes Alcatel-Lucent, Verizon, AT&T, BellSouth, Frontier, Rogers Cable and Panduit. In 2007-08, the company was expecting a revenue of $13 million.

Infinite Computer Solutions, which took six years to cross $100 million in revenues, had been witnessing very marginal growth during the last two financial years.

The company has a revenue of about $104 million in 2005-06, and $105 million in 2006-07. Keeping that in view, Infinite has decided to increase its focus on the core telecom vertical, that contributes about 35 per cent to its top line now.

"We feel that the traditional business was perhaps not the high margin business, and thus planning to increase our focus on telecom," said Neeraj Tewari, head, telecom business, Infinite Computer.

Upinder Zutshi, CEO, Infinite Computer Solutions, said the company was aiming to make telecom the biggest vertical by providing services and solutions.

"We aim to become a $300 million revenue company by 2010-11, with significant focus on telecom vertical. To achieve this, we are moving up in the value chain from a pure-play services provider to be the provider of end-to-end solutions to our customers," he added.

The company was planning to invest $30 million to strengthen the telecom practice by both organic and inorganic means. This could be raised from venture funds or even from a public offer, Zutshi added. In June 2004, Infinite has raised $6 million funding from Singapore-based investment management agency WhiteRock Partners.

Infinite Computer has a headcount of about 3,500 people with centres in Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. In the telecom space, the company serves customers such as Verizon, AOL, MCI, Sprint, Siemens, FiberLink and NeuStar among others.