Infosys eyes SAP consultant for US$751.7M

Indian IT services giant Infosys plans to buy U.K.-based SAP consultant Axon Group for £407.1 million, to beef up its consulting division.

Infosys announced yesterday that it had agreed terms for a recommended cash offer for the company, which consults with multinational companies which use SAP as their enterprise platform.

"We are excited about this acquisition. The strategic combination of our groups will accelerate the realization of our common aspiration--that of becoming the most respected provider of business transformational services in the global marketplace," Infosys CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan said in a statement.

Infosys believed the purchase would accelerate one of its strategic objectives: the expansion of its consulting practice. The growth was necessary to aid it in tackling large business transformation programs.

Axon has 2,000 employees in offices in the United Kingdom, North America, Malaysia and Australia, while Infosys has 91,000 staff in over 40 offices in India, China, Australia, the Czech Republic, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan.

Infosys expected the transaction to be completed by November 2008.