Indian IT major Infosys Friday announced to form a joint venture with Japanese conglomerates Hitachi Ltd, Panasonic Corp and Pasona Inc. As per the terms of the deal, Infosys has agreed to buy 81% equity stake in Hitachi Procurement Service Co Ltd, which is a fully owned arm of Hitachi Ltd and is into the business of handling indirect materials purchasing functions for the Hitachi group. Pasona, Panasonic and Hitachi will own a minority stake in the JV. Financial details, however, have not been disclosed.
Bengaluru-headquartered IT giant Infosys will use its expertise in procurement processes, consulting, analytics and digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for the venture. The JV will also help Infosys expand its footprints in Japan, it said in the statement.
Also read: The Walt Disney appoints Star India chairman Uday Shankar to lead its India, Asia Pacific business
The newly floated JV will provide end-to-end, efficient and high-value procurement capabilities to companies in Japan, using Pasona’s employees and business process management networks; and Hitachi and Panasonic’s knowledge of their procurement functions and local teams, it added. Infosys will then expand the procurement offering to other companies in Japan.
“This joint venture will help Japanese corporations transform their procurement processes using next-generation digital platforms, as we bring together the combined power of deep procurement expertise, technology, global expertise and local skills,” said Infosys President Ravi Kumar in the statement.
“ The procurement functions role is critical to Hitachi’ success, and this partnership will strengthen Hitachi Procurement’s global competitiveness with new operating models, and high-quality delivery at speed enabled by digital technologies,” Masashi Murayama, Chief Procurement Officer, Hitachi said.
Meanwhile, shares of Infosys were trading at Rs 702.90, up 0.92% on BSE at 10:10 AM, after touching an intra-day high of Rs 705.80 a share and an intra-day low of Rs 693.50 a share, from the previous close.