Ness expands India operations

Our Convergence Bureau
01 August 2003

Bangalore: Ness Technologies, a global provider of innovative IT solutions, has announced the completion of the merger with Apar Infotech, a Pittsburgh-based software services company.

The merger, which took place in May 2003, was valued at $78 million. With the merger, the Wolfson group, a major shareholder, now holds 34 per cent and Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm, also holds 34 per cent.

With the merger Apar, (now Ness Global Services — a new business group within Ness Technologies), has become part of Ness Technologies. The merger contributed to an increase in the size of the company — in total revenues, head count and international presence. Ness anticipates its total annual revenues to grow to $300 million.

The company has increased its workforce by 40 per cent to 3,800 employees because of the merger. The company will have offices in 12 countries — Israel, Canada, the US, the UK, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, India, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

The Indian market is a strategic one for Ness. The company is committed to leveraging the newly-added professional talent from India and to maximise its potential. India is becoming dominant in the worldwide software industry and gaining recognition as such. Ness as an international company considers activity in the Indian market very important to its future and considers offshore software development as a key element of its strategy.

Says Ness Technologies president and CEO Raviv Zoller: "Our interest in the Indian market stems from the fact that India is a proven success story in the world software industry. As a company that provides international IT services, it is important for us to reach this market, which has broad potential both for providing IT services offshore and for highly talented professional employees. We will continue to examine additional investments in India and the region with great interest."