Infosys to buy Noah Consulting for $70 mn: 10 things you need to know about the deal

India’s second largest software services exporter Infosys Ltd has said it will acquired Noah Consulting LLC, information management consulting firm, for a consideration of $70 million. Here are a few facts about the acquisition: [caption id=“attachment_2301072” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] 1. It is an all-cash acquisition and is expected to close by 31 December. 2. Established in 2008, Noah Consulting is engaged in providing information solution for upstream oil and gas companies. It has offices in Houston and Calgary. 3. A report in the Mint newspaper notes that the deal comes at a time when the oil prices are falling and there is a need for the oil and gas industry to improve efficiency through use of data analytics. 4. “The upstream oil and gas industry is facing unprecedented challenges that demand faster and better ways of achieving return on investment. This requires a well-defined and executed information and data management strategy that will allow companies to increase efficieny across the lifecycle - from exploration to production. With this acquisition, we are uniquely positioned to offer end-to-end data management services to oil and gas companies globally,” Rajesh Murthy, EVP and global head of energy, communications and services, Infosys, has been quoted as saying in the reports. 5. As Infosys’ oil and gas clients are adjusting to a new normal of lower oil prices, there is an urgency to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations in a safe and reliable manner, Sanjay Purohit, EVP and global head of Infosys Consulting, has been quoted as saying. “This acquisition is part of Infosys’ strategy to bring next generation data analytics solutions to the oil and gas industry,” he said. 6. Meanwhile, John Ruddy, president of Noah Consulting, said both Infosys and Nosah together “can effect transformational change for our oil and gas clients by using information management to integrate supply chain, safety, environmental and financial data with geoscience, engineering and other operational and technical data – an industry challenge that has never been addressed effectively”. 7. Sanjoy Sen, doctoral research scholar at the UK-based Aston Business School, feels the deal is aimed at building supplemental capability for IT/ITES companies rather than oil prices. “Traditional capabilities of IT/ITES companies have mirrored the industry sectors that have been outsourcing IT and Business Processes the most i.e. Financial Services, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Manufacturing, Distribution and Retail. Capability in Energy and Resources represents opportunities for enhancement as this industry segment has not been amongst the top 3 industry segments outsourcing. It appears that Infosys is addressing this as strategic capability augmentation,” he said. According to him, leveraging the downside of oil prices is probably a secondary benefit of this. 8. This is Infosys’ third acquisition this year. Earlier, it had bought Kallidus (Skava) and its affiliate for $120 million. The deal was completed in June. Skava is a leading provider of digital experience solutions. In February, Infosys had announced acquisition of Panaya for $200 million. Panaya is a leading provider of automation technology for large-scale enterprise software management. 9. Shares of Infosys today rose 1.63 percent at Rs 1112. BSE IT index was up 1.2 percent and the Sensex 0.5 percent. 10. Infosys reserves as of 30 September stands at Rs 32,099 crore. “We don’t want to buy yesterday’s technology. We want to buy tomorrow’s technology, things that will be relevant for us in the future,” CEO Vishal Sikka had told ToI after the announcing the results for second quarter. With inputs from PTI