Mastek plans to take over infotech firm

New Delhi, Dec 9: With valuation of overseas IT companies steadily coming down to more realistic levels, Mastek is planning to acquire an infotech firm, especially in the US, which would offer either domain knowledge or market access. "We are looking for acquisition of an IT company with similar synergy of business, and which would offer market access or domain knowledge," Mr Ashank Desai, chairman and managing director of Mastek Ltd, said here.

Mr Desai said Mastek would look at companies in the US, although it was open to good proposals from companies in Europe and even India. "The size of the company would be a maximum of 500 to 800 people, but that would be the upper limit. We feel that beyond this limit, the integration would become difficult," Mr Desai said but declined to quantify the size of the proposed acquisition in terms of money.
Asked if the company would go for a cash-cum-stock deal, Mr Desai said, "We would like to go for cash or equity deal coming over a period of time. Mastek does not expect the acquisition to add value this year, but over the next two years or so we expect that it would definitely add value," he added. Elaborating on Mastek’s expansion plans, Mr Desai said the company would set up a subsidiary in Switzerland soon. "We are also planning to convert our Japan office into a subsidiary this financial year," Mr Desai added.

Mastek currently has subsidiaries in the US, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Malaysia and Singapore.

— PTI