Cognizant buys US-based AimNet Solutions

Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced the acquisition of AimNet Solutions Inc, a privately-held, US-based managed infrastructure and professional services firm, for an undisclosed sum.

The network operations centre (NOC) of the US firm would complement Cognizant's NOC in Bangalore to service customers and enable it to do higher-end work in infrastructure consulting including network architecture, planning, design and infrastructure security solutions, an official release issued by Cognizant said.

Cognizant, the statement added, would add around 100 people and about 80 customers from AimNet, and revenues would accrue once the transaction is completed this year.

Lakshmi Narayanan, vice chairman of Cognizant, said the firm would look at acquiring companies with capabilities in specific domains like financial services, healthcare, retail and manufacturing in which it has a significant presence in the market.

The $886 million Nasdaq-listed Cognizant would spend up to $60 million to acquire companies - almost double the money it paid earlier to buy technology firms abroad, he said.

"All the buys we have made till now have been in the $25-30 million range. Given our size and the resources, we are willing to spend between $50-60 million for acquisitions," Narayanan said.

The company, he said, was planning to increase its workforce by 4,000 people to over 35,000 by December.