Infosys buys Gen-i's software arm for Rs 18 cr

Infosys Technologies, India’s second-largest information technology (IT) services company, has acquired the software solutions division of Gen-i, a telecom solutions provider based out of New Zealand, for a consideration of NZ $5 million (Rs 18 crore).

Gen-i is the corporate information and communication technology (ICT) arm of Telecom New Zealand, the largest telecom services provider in New Zealand, which is also one of the largest customers of Infosys. Gen-i employs about 3,000 people located in 17 locations across New Zealand and Australia.

According to Infosys, this strategic acquisition will help its expansion in New Zealand. Besides, the company will jointly go-to-market with i-Gen. The acquisition will bring to Infosys about 110 people other than the software assets of Gen-i's software division.

“This is a strategic acquisition, which will give us cross-selling opportunities to Gen-i’s existing set of customers and expand in New Zealand markets. We expect this partnership to fetch us a revenue of NZ$12 million in this financial year,” said V Balakrishnan, CFO of Infosys Technologies.

Infosys has a small presence in New Zealand with a headcount of 45 people. The acquisition will take its headcount in New Zealand to over 150 people. According to Infosys, those who will join are primarily senior developers, technical architects and consultants, and will continue to be based in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The company also plans to hire an additional 15-30 people immediately.

Infosys has also announced that the current software solutions management team will lead New Zealand delivery for the company. The company has appointed Patrick Kouwenhoven to manage the New Zealand operations, which will be headed by Ashok Mysore, associate vice-president of Infosys.

“Since launching our first New Zealand office 18 months ago, we have been studying the market to find the right strategic partner. Our partnership with Gen-i makes sense because we share core values and complement each other’s strengths to fill some critical gaps in the marketplace,” said Jackie Korhonen, CEO and MD, Infosys Australia & New Zealand.