Wipro buying British IT firm Capco for $1.4 billion

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<strong>Rishad Premji-led IT software major Wipro Ltd on Thursday said it has agreed to buy British consulting firm Capco for $1.45 billion in one of the biggest ever all-cash deals in India’s infotech sector.</strong></p>
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Capco has a team of more than 5,000 business and technology consultants across 30 locations, and is expected to strengthen Wipro’s position in the financial services industry, which contributes about 30% to the company’s revenue, according to a Wipro statement.</p>
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The acquisition is expected to close in the April-June quarter. London-based Capco provides digital, consulting and technology services to financial institutions. Capco’s clients include top companies in the financial services and energy and commodities trading sectors.</p>
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“Together, we can deliver high-end consulting and technology transformations and operations offerings to our clients," said Thierry Delaporte, chief executive officer and managing director of Wipro.</p>
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The deal appears to be bold move by Wipro to recover ground after it lost its position as India’s third-largest software services provider to HCL Technologies Ltd.</p>
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Top IT services companies are increasingly buying out smaller specialized firms to bring in ready talent and technology capabilities as a strategy to rapidly expand their digital business, which has seen high demand during the pandemic.</p>
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“By combining Wipro’s capabilities in strategic design, digital transformation, cloud, cybersecurity, IT and operations services with Capco’s domain and consulting strength, clients will gain access to a partner who can deliver integrated, bespoke solutions to help fuel growth and achieve their transformation objectives," Wipro said in a statement.</p>
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Since he took over in July, Delaporte has made a series of acquisitions to restore growth amid soaring demand for digital services during the pandemic.</p>
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Before Capco, Wipro made three acquisitions under Delaporte. Through 2020, it acquired leading Salesforce multi-cloud partner 4C; engineering services company Eximius Design; and Encore Theme Technologies, a specialist in providing cloud solutions in financial services.</p>