Cognizant buys 6 cos of C1 Group

It firm Cognizant on Friday said that it has acquired six companies of German IT consulting and services firm C1 Group for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, the Nasdaq-listed IT major plans to strengthen its local footprint in Germany and Switzerland and pump up its consulting and enterprise services.

The C1 Group, which was founded in April 2002, has around 1,200 employees and a revenue of 200 million euros for the calender year 2011.

In 2010, the company posted a revenue of 180 million euros. Under the deal, about 500 employees of C1 Group across locations in Germany and Switzerland will join Cognizant.

According to the company spokesperson, they expect the annualised revenue from the six acquired companies to be around $100 million for calendar year 2013.

The companies being acquired focuses on manufacturing and logistics, energy and utilities, and financial services. The deal is expected to boost the IT major's local business environment in the region and its global delivery services catering to European clients.

Cognizant pointed out that the six companies provide services in enterprise application mainly SAP and high-end testing.

Francisco D'Souza, CEO, Cognizant, said, "This strategic acquisition underscores our commitment to the German and the larger European markets, and reinforces our position as one of the top consulting and IT services companies across the region." D'Souza said that with this acquisition, Cognizant is even better positioned to help European clients.

Europe has been the soft spot for Cognizant while the company generates close to 80 per cent of its revenue from the North American market and even the growth rates from this region is lower when compared with its overall number.

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