Atos Origin eyes buys in SMB space

MUMBAI: Even as Indian IT companies are scouting for acquisitions in Europe, the $7-billion Paris-headquartered Atos Origin is eyeing acquisitions in the small and mid-size space in India. The global information technology major has a history of growing through acquisitions, and has grown from a E300 million firm in 1991 to a E5.4 billion firm in 2006.

Speaking to ET Bernard Bourigeaud, chairman of the management board and CEO, Atos Origin said, "Acquisitions in India are expensive. We are evaluating mid-size firms that are in region of 2,000 people."

Organically, the firm will grow from 1,500 people to 5,000 in the next three years. The IT major acquired an India presence when it bought Origin, the software unit of Philips.

Mr Bourigeaud said the India acquisition would be to attain scale in its operations here, and potential targets would be evaluated on parameters such as quality of people, experience and cultural fit.

One of the benefits for the target company would be access to European markets, which are growing at a rapid rate but where Indian companies do not have a sizable presence.

Mr Bourigeaud feels this will give Atos leverage on the acquisition price. In addition to the systems integration and application development, Mr Bourigeaud said the BPO sector was also attractive.