Wipro buys oil and gas IT services unit from SAIC, which bets on clean tech

Wipro said Friday that it is buying Science Applications International Corp.'s oil and gas IT services unit in a deal valued at $150 million.

For Wipro, the Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) deal gives the Indian outsourcing company a lucrative vertical. SAIC's oil and gas unit provides systems integration, outsourcing and consulting to major oil providers. Wipro also gets 1,450 employees across North America, Europe, India and the Middle East.

According to Wipro, SAIC's oil and gas business will be combined with its energy, natural resources and utilities business unit. Wipro is betting that oil and gas customers will continue to look to IT to grow revenue streams, cut costs and become more green.

On the other side of the deal, SAIC is placing its bets elsewhere. In a statement, SAIC CEO Walt Havenstein said:

The sale of these operations will enable SAIC to better focus on our strategic growth areas, including market segments in the energy sector, such as smart grid, renewable energy implementation, and energy efficiency, where we have successfully built our business through organic growth and acquisitions. To grow our oil and gas IT services business would have required investments in areas outside our strategic focus, including increasing our off-shore capabilities.

The need to grow offshore made Wipro a natural partner.