HCL, one of India's biggest tech companies, has been on a roll since its new chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra, India's first female head of a listed IT company, took over two months ago. Early on Monday, the company announced its latest acquisition, this time of the Australian IT, business and management consulting group DWS.
The acquisition of DWS is expected to contribute to the Delhi-NCR-based IT major's increased capabilities in areas like digital transformation and app development, DWS's areas of expertise. As the news trickled in, HCL's stocks buoyed to a one-year high of Rs 849 per share at the BSE.
DWS, with over 700 employees and offices in Australia's major cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, etc, provide a range of IT services to clients across various verticals. HCL, which already has a sizable presence down under with about 1,600 employees, is expected to get a boost for its digital expansion plans with the acquisition of DWS. As per filings to regulatory agencies, HCL's total equity payout will be about Rs 850 crore.
“We are confident that our combined strengths will further accelerate the digital transformation journeys of our clients and innovations for their end-customers," Michael Horton, executive vice-president and country manager of HCL in Australia and New Zealand, said in a statement.
Since founder Shiv Nadar stepped down in favour of his daughter Roshni Nadar Malhotra two months ago, HCL has been on a roll, with a series of expansions, tie-ups and buyouts, resulting in its share prices clambering on a steady upward trajectory.
In fact, DWS is not the only major overseas investment since Roshni's elevation. Earlier this month, the company had announced the setting up of its Global Development Centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka. While the centre already has a staffing of more than 100, the planned headcount, over the next few years, is to raise it to 3,000. “We are very positive of the growth prospects we foresee in the country and look forward to bringing in global opportunities to the local communities in Sri Lanka," HCL Technologies President and CEO C. Vijayakumar had said then.
Just last week, HCL had announced an expansion of its strategic tie-up with Google Cloud. While it makes it clear that Roshni means business for the conglomerate her father founded just four decades ago and now commands annual revenues in excess of Rs 70,000 crore, the moves augurs well for shareholders as well—HCL stock value went up 22 per cent just this month alone.
