D.Murali

Chennai: IT firms might be facing the music currently but don’t write off them as yet. Software services company Four Soft and technology company Take Solutions have decided to merge, which when finalised, would widen product offerings and presence across varied geographies. Take Solutions has expertise in life sciences and supply chain management, while Four Soft is a software products firm specialising in logistics and supply chain management.

“We will be strengthening offerings to the Logistics Service Provider (LSP) sector. Take has traditionally been strong on the enterprise segment (manufacturing & distribution companies). With the product suite of Four Soft, our offerings will be a full, ‘Soup to nuts’ from enterprise to service provider,” said Mr. Srinivasan HR, Vice-Chairman of Take Solutions to Business Line over the e-mail.

Take Solutions did its IPO in August 2007 and raised over Rs 150 crore. A presence in both enterprise and retail sides of the business augurs well for IT companies.

Responding to a query, Mr. Srinivasan said that in a merger scenario (such as this one) there is no absolute valuation. “It is relative and yet to be determined. The process is for both the companies to appoint financial advisors to carry on a valuation exercise and then suggest a suitable merger ratio. That process can be done only after the respective Boards approve an ‘in principle’ merger intent, which is today,” he added.

Four Soft brings 5 products (intellectual property), and over 750 employees. More importantly, it brings in significant presence in Europe and Japan where Take Solutions does not have high penetration.

Take, instead, focuses on presence in the US and Asia Pacific. When asked about staff rationalisation measures post-merger, Mr. Srinivasan said that any plans will emerge from the combined business plan and would be difficult (for him) to comment on at this juncture.