HCL to acquire IBM software products for $1.8 billion

Indian IT company HCL Technologies (HCL) has announced that will acquire IBM software products for $1.8 billion.

"We continue to see great opportunities in the market to enhance our Mode-3 (Products and Platforms) offerings. The products that we are acquiring are in large growing market areas like Security, Marketing and Commerce which are strategic segments for HCL. Many of these products are well regarded by clients and positioned in the top quadrant by industry analysts," said C Vijayakumar, President & CEO, HCL Technologies.

The transaction is expected to close by mid-2019, subject to completion of applicable regulatory reviews.

He further added, "The large-scale deployments of these products provide us with a great opportunity to reach and serve thousands of global enterprises across a wide range of industries and markets. I am confident that these products will see good growth trajectory backed by our commitment to invest in product innovation coupled with our strong client focus and agile product development. In addition, we see tremendous potential for creating compelling 'as-a-service' offerings by combining these products with our Mode-1 and Mode-2 services."

According to PTI report, this is the biggest acquisition for HCL Tech till date, and among the largest by an Indian tech company and this acquisition also reflects HCL's ambitions for software products business - considered to be the next growth frontier for IT companies.

"The deal also entails the transfer of IBM employees, but did not divulge any numbers," PTI quoted HCL Tech Chief Financial Officer Prateek Aggarwal.

For those who are not aware, HCL operates out of 43 countries and has consolidated revenues of US$ 8.2 billion, for 12 Months ended 30th September 2018. HCL focuses on providing an integrated portfolio of services underlined by its Mode 1-2-3 growth strategy.