Indian telecoms company
Tech
Mahindra has acquired a minority stake in London-based IT
services company Servista,
just a day after the Financial Times reported BT was considering
selling its stake in the Indian firm.
Tech Mahindra will help Servista secure more European IT
offshoring business and will work as the company's exclusive
delivery arm for the next three years. It will have the right to
nominate a member to Servista's board of directors.
Servista CEO Ben Andradi said the deal would help Servista
"deliver the huge benefits of Indian offshoring to the European
marketplace".
He added, "There is substantial potential for growth. European
companies are at relatively early stages in their use of IT
offshoring for competitive advantage.
"The European domestic market needs more people with specialist
skills."
Tech Mahindra's stake in Servista will be seen as another
example of Indian IT companies increasing their global footprint
following the takeover of UK-based consultancy Axon by Indian
outsourcing company Infosys.
However, there has been a trend of multinational companies
selling out of their joint-venture outsourcing units in India.
Global technology provider Nortel Networks is to sell its £5m stake
in Indian communications company Sasken, according to reports in
the Financial Chronicle.
BT is considering selling its 31% stake in Tech Mahindra, worth
£1.2bn, because the joint venture does not fit with its long-term
strategy, according to FT reports.