French IT services group Atos to buy Syntel

French IT services group Atos has agreed to buy US Information Technology group Syntel in a move to significantly expand its presence in North America. This transaction is a major step in the strategy of Atos to reach a global scale.

Atos, which provides IT services to sectors ranging from aerospace to retail, said the deal to buy Syntel will strengthen its activities in banking, finance, and insurance and allow it to provide complete IT solutions to its U.S. customers.

The deal will significantly enhance the business & platform solutions division's growth and profitability profile through an extended digital services offering, cutting-edge India-based delivery platforms, as well as revenue and cost synergies.

The acquisition of Syntel, a 38-year-old company with 23,000 employees, comes after last year's unsuccessful attempt by Atos to buy Gemalto. Syntel provides technology and IT services utilizing a network of software development centres in India.

Capgemini to acquire IGate

Capgemini is a French Multinational Management consulting corporation headquartered in Paris, France. It provides IT services and is one of the world largest consulting, outsourcing, and professional services companies with almost 145,000 employees in over 40 countries.

Recently, Capgemini announced that it will acquire IGate in a transaction that will amount to $4.04 Billion that will make North America into its biggest market and hand IGate Founder a $1 Billion windfall. IGate, which has strength in the financial sector, has grown quickly since its 1996 stock market listing. IGate does about 80 percent business in North America and would represent 30 percent of the combined group estimated 2015 revenue of $13.58 Billion.

The combination of IGate and Capgemini provides cross selling revenue synergies of $100-150 Million and annual efficiency gains estimated at $75-100 Million. Capgemini had in 2006 acquired Kanbay International, which had significant operations in India. This helped increase Capgemini presence in India.

With the acquisition, Capgemini would add new clients such as General Electric Co and Royal Bank of Canada. IGate employs 33,000 people globally, with 75 percent of them in India. The combined company would have more than 100,000 employees there, or 48 percent of its workforce. The new company also stands to offer more platforms based and intellectual property based solutions to help clients respond to and stay at the forefront of their market.

French BlaBlaCar enter in India

One of France biggest startups and amongst the world’s largest carpool companies wants to revolutionize the way Indians Travel. BlaBlaCar, the city-to-city ridesharing service available across Europe, Russia, and Turkey, has arrived in India on January 14, 2015. The company is opening its ninth office in the capital city and it had plans to expand into India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

As in its other 13 other markets in which over two million people use its service, BlaBlaCar lets drivers offers ride from one city to another, and share the cost with co-travelers who sign up for the journey making the trip more affordable than traveling separately. It has launched services in Delhi and Gurgaon on Wednesday. India is the first stop in Asia, for the 10-year-old company that has built an online community of 10 Million across 13 countries so far.

Last July, it received $100 Million in funding from a slew of investors including Accel Partners and Index Ventures, when it first announced its interest in emerging markets including India, Brazil, and Turkey. Unlike taxi aggregators who have been asked to register as radio taxi operators, carpooling services in India are not bound by regulation yet. Brazil Tripda, which is backed by German Incubator Rocket Internet, launched its Indian operations last November by offering ride sharing between cities. Meanwhile, a number of local players like RidingO, SmartMumbaikar, and ZingHopper, offer similar services in India.

BlaBlaCar, which draws its quirky name from one of the features that users display on their profile on the company’s platform, expects users to log in using their Facebook profile. They can often choose the driver they want to ride with based on profiles. In Spain, Poland, and France, BlaBlaCar charges an 11% commission on each ride per person. In India too, commuters will have to sign on through their Facebook profile, and book a ride with a driver they are likely to be comfortable with. While the service will be free for the first year, the company will later take a percentage out of every booking.