Infosys to buy automation tech company Panaya

Country’s second-largest software services firm Infosys will acquire U.S.-based automation technology company Panaya for an enterprise value of $200 million or over Rs. 1,200 crore.

The all-cash deal is part of Infosys’ ‘Renew and New’ strategy to enhance the competitiveness and productivity of current service lines by leveraging automation, innovation and artificial intelligence, Infosys said in a statement.

The acquisition of Panaya is a key step in renewing and differentiating Infosys’ service lines, its CEO and Managing Director Vishal Sikka said.

“This will help amplify the potential of our people, freeing us from the drudgery of many repetitive tasks, so we may focus more on the important, strategic challenges faced by our clients,” he added.

Panaya’s CloudQuality suite will allow Infosys to bring automation to its service lines through agile software as a service (SaaS) model, help mitigate risk, reduce costs and shorten time to market for clients.

The transaction is expected to close before March 31, 2015, subject to customary closing conditions.

The Bangalore-based firm has been aggressively scouting for acquisitions after Mr. Sikka was brought on board last year.

Mr. Sikka had said the company was open to taking over innovative companies in areas like automation and artificial intelligence but is not interested in ‘yesterdays’ companies.

At the end of December 2014 quarter, Infosys had cash and cash equivalents of $5.65 billion or Rs. 34,873 crore.

In January 2012, Infosys BPO acquired Portland Group, a strategic sourcing and category management services provider based in Australia for USD 41 million.

In October of same year, it acquired Zurich-headquartered Lodestone Holding for a cash consideration of $219 million and an additional consideration of up to $112 million.