Atos is acquiring Syntel for $3.57 billion in cash and net debt, uniting digital IT services giants based in France and Michigan, respectively, the two companies confirmed today.
Among Syntel's key business metrics:
- $924 million in revenue for 2017, of which 89% was in North America, with 25% operating margin.
- 23,000 engineers in 30 countries, with over 18,000 staff based in India.
The Syntel engineers are "highly skilled" in digital services across cloud, social media, mobile, analytics, IoT, and automation, the companies say. On the flip side, Syntel gains reach into the Atos portfolio of cybersecurity, Big data and identity management services. Plus, the deal should greatly boost Atos in several U.S. vertical markets -- particularly the banking, finance and insurance verticals, both firms say.
Atos Acquires Syntel: Executive Moves, Perspectives
Syntel CEO Rakesh Khanna will join the Atos Executive Committee, and all of Syntel’s management team is expected to join Atos. The deal is expected to close later this year.
In a prepared statement, Atos CEO Thierry Breton said the deal "represents a transformational step for our Business & Platform Solutions Division as it will significantly enhance its growth and profitability profile through an extended digital services offering, cutting-edge India-based delivery platforms, as well as revenue and cost synergies."
Added Syntel Co-founder Bharat Desai: "Our focus at Syntel is to help customers transform and succeed in the digital economy. Since its founding, our “Customer for Life” ethos has guided our investments in high-impact, domain-led services and intellectual property... I am confident that this combination will deliver significant value to all stakeholders.”
The companies are expected to share more details during an analyst call on Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. Paris time.
Atos M&A Pursuits
Atos has been very active on the M&A front. The company in December 2017 attempted to buy Gemalto for $5 billion in cash. Earlier the company purchased:
The company also has a close working relationship with Dell Technologies.
