TCS to acquire French IT company Alti for Rs 530 crore

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is acquiring French IT services company Alti SA 75 million euros (Rs 530 crore) in an all-cash transaction. The acquisition will strengthen TCS' ability and footprint to service its customers in France and other regions in Europe.

Alti SA is a leading French technology services firm with strong expertise in IT services including enterprise solutions, assurance and CRM solutions. It is a privately-held company owned by its management and two private equity funds, CM-CIC LBO Partners and IDI, which supported its growth from a revenue base 64 million euros in 2007 to 126 million euros in 2012. As one of the top five system integrators of enterprise solutions in France, its key customers comprise several top French corporations in the banking, financial services, luxury, manufacturing and utilities sectors. The company has 1,200 employees based in France, Belgium and Switzerland.

N Chandrasekaran, CEO and managing director, TCS, said, "This acquisition underlines our long-term, strategic commitment to France, which is the third-largest IT services market in Europe. The acquisition of Alti SA will help us serve our clients in France and across Europe more comprehensively with an expanded set of services and solutions, bringing the best of TCS to French corporations. I am confident that this acquisition will help us accelerate our growth and presence in France."

Assessed at over 30 billion euros, the France IT services market is the largest in Europe, after the UK and Germany. TCS has been operating in France since 1992 and has over 50 clients in the country, including several of the CAC 40. Over the last five years, TCS has significantly strengthened its position in the country through local hiring and investments. In recognition of these initiatives, the company had been conferred the special award for Investment and Innovation by the Greater Paris Investment Agency in 2012.