Infosys to buy US firm Panaya Inc in $200 mn deal

Infosys Ltd today said it would buy Panaya Inc, a New Jersey-based provider of automation technology, for an enterprise value of $200 million, as India's second-biggest IT outsourcing company bets on new technology to boost growth.

Under chief executive Vishal Sikka, Infosys has been making big bets on automation and other new technology like artificial intelligence and cloud-based services as the company tries to regain some lost ground from rivals like Tata Consultancy Services.

"The acquisition of Panaya is a key step in renewing and differentiating our service lines," Sikka said in a statement.

The Bangalore-based firm said Panaya's technology would help it bring automation to several service lines through a software-as-a-service model, reducing risks and costs and the time taken to bring services to the market.

"The acquisition of Panaya is a key step in renewing and differentiating our service lines. This will help amplify the potential of our people, freeing us from the drudgery of many repetitive tasks, so we may focus more on the important, strategic challenges faced by our clients," Sikka said.

Sikka has been focusing on increasing the company's revenue-per-full-time-equivalent through the use of technology, since he took over as CEO last year.

The deal is expected to close by 31 March, Infosys said.

Infosys, which had a cash pile of Rs32,000 crore at the end of December 2014, has often been criticised for being conservative with respect to acquisitions.