Infosys Technologies this week declined to enter a bidding war over acquisition target Axon Group plc, effectively stepping aside to let HCL Technologies pursue its bid for the U.K.-based SAP integrator.
HCL offered 650 pence per share for Axon late last month, 8.3% more than Infosys had offered in late August. Even then, there was speculation that a counteroffer would be forthcoming for the 2,000-employee consulting business that spans 30 countries.
At a press event to discuss Infosys’ second-quarter results late yesterday, Infosys CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan brushed aside suggestions that the current economic turmoil was behind the decision to check rather than up the ante. He said, “We had done due diligence before we made the bid. We’ve gone back and looked at all the metrics and we see no reason to increase the price.” Now, he added, it’s up to the Axon board which deal to take.
When Infosys was closing in on an agreement with Axon, MA had reported that the Bangalore, India-based Infosys, a provider of IT outsourcing and consulting services, would benefit from the deal both in terms of strengthening its position in the consulting and enterprise software market and advancing its strategy to reduce its dependence on a slowing North American market.