Syntel founders Bharat Desai, Neerja Sethi make whopping $2 billion from French tech firm Atos' takeover

With French IT services group Atos buying US information technology group Syntel for $3.4 billion, Indian-American couple Bharat Desai and Neerja Sethi will make a whopping $2 billion from the deal, according to a media report. The duo, who together held a 57 percent stake in the company, started the venture with a meagre amount of $2,000 in 1980 when they were still in college, according to The Times of India. According to Forbes, the company has now more than $900 million in revenue. Desai’s net worth as of July 2018 is $1.6 billion. [caption id=“attachment_4806521” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Atos is boosting its North American operations by buying Michigan-based IT services provider Syntel Inc. Atos, which provides IT services to sectors ranging from aerospace to retail, said the deal to buy Syntel will strengthen its activities in banking, finance and insurance and allow it to provide complete IT solutions to its US customers. The acquisition of Syntel, a 38-year-old company with 23,000 employees, comes after last year’s unsuccessful attempt by Atos to buy Gemalto. “[The deal] will significantly enhance [the Business & Platform Solutions Division’s] growth and profitability profile through an extended digital services offering, cutting-edge India-based delivery platforms, as well as revenue and cost synergies,” Atos Chief Executive Thierry Breton said in a statement. Syntel provides technology and IT services utilising a network of software development centres in India. With inputs from Reuters