Wipro to buy US mortgage consultancy

Wipro has announced plans to acquire U.S. mortgage consultancy Opus Capital Market Consultants (Opus CMC) for US$75 million, as part of efforts to beef up its presence in the financial services sector. 

India's third-largest IT outsourcing firm, Wipro said in a statement the deal would boost its mortgage outsourcing business and complement its existing offerings in mortgage origination and servicing. Illinois-based Opus CMC employs over 490 and operates five centers across the United States, offering loan-level due diligence, valuation support, forensic analysis, and advisory services on mortgage products. Its clientele includes global banks, mortgage conduits, and mortgage investors.

The all-cash deal is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of Wipro's financial year 2014, and to be paid out out over the next three years. According to a report by The Economic Times, the acquisition is part of the Bangalore-based IT service company's efforts to boost its financial services play, which accounted for some 26 percent of its revenue. In comparison, the sector contributes 40 percent to India's overall services industry.  

Wipro last year hired Shaji Farooq--previously from rival Infosys--to head its banking, financial and insurance services division. 

Manoj Punja, the company's senior vice president and BPO head, said in the statement: "This acquisition will help us expand in the high-end mortgage BPO (business process outsourcing) segment, and brings differentiated capability with a platform-based risk management offering.

"Our vision is to leverage Wipro's offerings with Opus CMC's capabilities and knowledge base to create an end-to-end offering for all mortgage players, with a greater degree of automation and application of analytics."

The Indian vendor in June announced plans to expand its presence in Germany, where it will triple its employee headcount to 1,000 over the next three years. In May, it invested US$30 million to acquire a minority stake in U.S. big data analytics vendor, Opera Solutions.