iGate buys out Quintant

Our Convergence Bureau
31 July 2003

Bangalore: iGate Global Solutions is buying out the GMR group''s 51-per stake in the business services provisioning start-up, Quintant Services Ltd, for Rs 86.9 crore in an all-cash deal and has appointed Phaneesh Murthy, formerly of Infosys, as CEO.

iGate Global chairman Sunil Wadhwani says the move will augment the company''s domain expertise and strengthen its presence in the financial services segment. "iGate intends to acquire the remaining stake in Quintant, contingent to certain conditions being met."

The Quintant acquisition provides iGate about Rs 68 crore in assets, including Rs 60 crore in cash, domain expertise in banking, insurance and financial verticals, the management team and proprietary process tools and frameworks, among others.

The board of iGate Global approved the transaction on Wednesday, as well as the appointment of Murthy as CEO and to the board of the company. "The Quintant acquisition and appointment of Phaneesh Murthy as CEO is a powerful combination and will prepare iGate to be at the forefront of the IT and IT-enabled services sector," says Wadhwani.

Murthy says he is looking forward to building iGate into a gold-standard organisation through operational excellence, customer service and corporate governance.