India's TCS Buys Chile Outsourcing Firm for $23mln
Tue Nov 8, 2005
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's top software services company, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS) (TCS.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), said on Tuesday it had acquired Chile's Comicrom for $23 million, as it sharpens its focus on business process outsourcing.
TCS shares rose 1.8 percent to 1,484.50 rupees in a firm Mumbai stock market.
Privately held Comicrom, with 1,257 employees, provides services mainly to banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and government organizations in Chile, TCS said.
Comicrom counts 70 percent of Chile's banks as customers and has 57 percent of the country's check processing business. It made revenue of $35.5 million in the financial year 2005.
"The acquisition will drive TCS' growing presence in the region's banking sector," N. Chandrasekaran, TCS global head of sales and operations, said in a statement.
The acquisition would boost TCS's regional staff strength to more than 2,000 and its client base to more than 100.
TCS and Comicrom already have a joint venture for software services in Chile, and TCS bought out Comicrom's 49 percent stake as part of the transaction.
Business process outsourcing is a small portion of TCS's overall services portfolio, accounting for $22 million last year.
TCS recently took over the business processing for British insurance and pensions firm Pearl Group in a deal expected to generate $848 million in revenue over 12 years.
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