Date:23/02/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/02/23/stories/2005022301781000.htm

Back HCL Tech buys out HES from Computech

Our Bureau

New Delhi , Feb. 22

HCL Technologies Ltd on Tuesday announced the acquisition of last tranche of 16.33 per cent stake in HCL Enterprise Solutions (HES) from Computech Corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiary, HCL Technologies (Bermuda) Ltd (HCLB).

With this, the company has now completely taken over the joint venture which will henceforth be solely owned and managed as HCL Technologies (Illinois) Inc from Illinois, US, the company said in a notice to the BSE.

HES was set up as a 51:49 joint venture between HCL Technologies and Computech Corporation in 2001, to focus on the enterprise application integration market. In line with the joint venture agreement, HCL Technologies acquired through HCLB, further stakes of 16.33 per cent each in September 2002 and October 2003. With the acquisition of last tranche, HES has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of HCL Technologies.

In the last three years, HCL's Global Oracle practice has grown to $25 million, registering a strong year-on-year growth of over 50 per cent, while the onsite headcount of HCLTI has also ramped up from 75 to 200 people, it said.

"During the last three years, HCL has gained immensely from this joint venture and the association has been a mutually beneficial one. It has significantly strengthened its Oracle practice and gained a strong foothold in the Oracle ERP market with about 60 active accounts,'' said Mr Divakar Maddipatia, Corporate Vice-President, HCL Technologies.

The acquisition enabled HCL Technologies to gain a strong onsite presence in the US ERP market and the company is leveraging this onsite capability to provide end-to-end and ERP solutions to several Fortune 2000 companiesAsked about the impact of the Oracle-PeopleSoft deal on the company's practices, Mr Saurav Adhikari, Corporate Vice-President - Strategy, HCL Technologies, said, "Our business in the Oracle-PeopleSoft area is between $25-30 million. However the exposure level is not as large as some of the other IT players."