Satyam eyes acquisitions in France, bets big on Germany

MUMBAI: As part of its expansion plans in Europe, leading software major Satyam Computer Services is mulling acquisitions in France, a top company official said.

"We see fairly large opportunities and are looking at acquisitions of French companies to expand our operations," Satyam's Continental Europe Head, Peter Heij, told visiting journalists at the company's Wiesbaden facility near Frankfurt recently.

The company is also mulling an expansion in Germany, the largest economy in Europe, he said.

Satyam has recently sealed a few acquisitions, those of Nitor Global Solutions and Citisoft Plc in the UK and S&V Management Consultants in Belgium.

"Our vision is to have 30 per cent of our global revenue emanating out of Europe by FY'10. To enter some of the European countries, we have to hire local people and acquire companies. We need to have an office in France," Heij said.

In the current business scenario, European markets are evolving as a major IT park for software development. These markets are demanding greater knowledge and understanding of country-specific issues, EU directives and resolutions, he said.

France preferred to undertake sourcing of IT services in its own language and with local firms. Major international firms are well represented in France with providers like AtosOrigin, Sopra, Sogeti & Thales capitalising on the advantage of "being French".