Polaris Software to consider Orbitech takeover

Chennai: It is official now. The board of Polaris Software Lab will consider the proposal to merge Orbitech Solutions, a Citigroup company, with itself on 22 May 2002. The collaborative business model with Orbitech Solutions, which Polaris Software chairman and managing director Arun Jain told in January 2002, finally turns out to be acquisitive. When the merger happens, Polaris Softwares earnings are expected to go up by 15 per cent, conservatively with the merged entity graduating to the fourth place in the banking and financial services area, possessing Orbitech Solutions domain expertise.

Announcing the results for last year Jain said his company is targeting to achieve 50-per cent growth for the year 2003. Of this, 17 to 25 per cent will come from leveraging existing and prospective businesses and the products business. The remaining may come from seizing inorganic growth opportunities. In the last fiscal the growth was 4 per cent. The other beneficial offshoot of this will be in the merged entitys billing rates. Analysts say post-merger, the discounting on billing rates vis--vis other major players is expected to halt.