Infosys to Acquire Lodestone, a Leading Management Consultancy Firm

Author
SySAdmin
Posted
September 10, 2012
Views
2634

Page All:

Page 1
Infosys to Acquire Lodestone, a Leading Management Consultancy Firm

ZURICH and BANGALORE, India, September 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

       
        - Strengthens Infosys management consulting capabilities globally
        - Expands presence in continental Europe adding more than 750 experienced
          consultants and 200 clients
        - Deepens expertise across Manufacturing, Automotive and Life Sciences
          industries
        - Infosys Consulting practice focusing on SAP programs to become a $1 Billion
          powerhouse

    Infosys [http://www.infosys.com ], a global leader in consulting and technology, today
announced a definitive agreement to acquire Lodestone Holding AG, a leading global
management consultancy firm for an aggregate enterprise value of CHF 330 Million in cash.
Headquartered in Zurich, Lodestone advises international companies on strategy and process
optimization, and provides business transformation solutions enabled by SAP. The
combination of the breadth of capabilities delivered by Infosys and Lodestone's deep
experience of driving transformational change, is expected to provide clients across the
two companies, a world-class team to accelerate transformation and innovation led growth.

    Upon completion, the acquisition of Lodestone will strengthen Infosys Consulting and
Systems Integration
[http://www.infosys.com/management-consulting-services/Pages/index.aspx ] (C&SI)
capabilities, by bringing more than 850 employees, including 750 experienced SAP
consultants to the company. Lodestone will add more than 200 clients across industries
including Manufacturing, Automotive and Life Sciences, to the Infosys pool of over 700
clients. Post-acquisition, the combined Consulting practice focusing on SAP programs will
deliver revenues of more than $1 Billion, firmly establishing Infosys amongst the global
leaders in SAP consulting.

    Infosys Consulting & Systems Integration business, today, has more than 30,000
consultants across 10 industry verticals and accounts for 31% of the company's revenue.
The Lodestone acquisition will significantly enhance its global presence, particularly in
continental Europe and emerging markets like Latin America and Asia Pacific. Further,
Lodestone's clients will get ready access to the scale and global reach of Infosys, in
addition to a broad spectrum of capabilities across consulting, systems integration and
outsourcing.

    Commenting on the transaction Mr. S. D. Shibulal, CEO & Managing Director, Infosys
said, "A key plank of our Infosys 3.0 strategy is to expand our Consulting & Systems
Integration business. This acquisition fits perfectly into that strategy. Lodestone and
Infosys share a culture of unwavering focus on nurturing and maintaining client trust. I
look forward to welcoming Ronald, his experienced leadership team and Lodestone's team of
top-notch consultants to Infosys."

    Mr. Ronald Hafner, Chairman and CEO, Lodestone added, "Our clients entrust us with
their most important business and technology transformation initiatives. We are eager to
leverage the widely acknowledged global reach of Infosys and its leadership in the
consulting and technology arena to deliver greater value to our clients. This will enhance
the momentum that Lodestone is already witnessing in the marketplace. A common passion for
delivering client value will strengthen this partnership even further."

    The transaction is currently expected to close by the end of October 2012, subject to
customary closing conditions.

    Linklaters LLP is acting as legal advisor to Infosys. UBS AG is acting as financial
advisor and Baker & McKenzie is acting as legal advisor to Lodestone.

    About Infosys

    Infosys partners with global enterprises to drive their innovation-led growth. That's
why Forbes ranked Infosys 19 among the top 100 most innovative companies. As a leading
provider of next-generation consulting, technology and outsourcing solutions, Infosys
helps clients in more than 30 countries realize their goals. Visit
http://www.infosys.com and see how Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY), with its 150,000+ people,
is Building Tomorrow's Enterprise(R) today.

    About Lodestone

    Lodestone Holding AG, headquartered in Zurich, is a global consulting firm advising
international companies on strategy and process optimization as well as IT transformation.
With a value-integration approach, Lodestone pursues a value-adding combination of
management and IT consulting. Founded in 2005, the firm has grown to more than 850
employees (thereof around 750 consultants) in 17 countries on five continents. Lodestone's
advisory services are primarily geared to the life science, chemical and financial
services industries as well as the investment, automotive and consumer goods sectors.

    For further information, please visit http://www.lodestonemc.com

    Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section
27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, which statements include those regarding the expected closing date of the
proposed acquisition, Infosys' expectations regarding the business, products and prospects
of the combined company, and Infosys' expectations regarding the impact of the proposed
acquisition. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical
are forward-looking statements and include, without limitation, statements regarding our
expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In some cases, you
can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should,"
"expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "predicts,"
"potential," or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology.
These statements are based on the current expectations or beliefs of management of Infosys
and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances that, if they were to never
materialize or prove incorrect, could cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected, expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could
cause actual results or outcomes to be materially different from those anticipated in this
press release include, among others, the inability to obtain necessary regulatory
approvals for the proposed acquisition or to obtain them on acceptable terms; the risk
that the Agreement is terminated; the inability of Infosys or Lodestone to satisfy the
conditions to the closing of the proposed acquisition; the inability of Infosys to
successfully integrate Lodestone and its services, employees and customers; and any
disruptions in the market for the products and services of Infosys and Lodestone.
Additional risks that could affect these forward-looking statements are more fully
described in Infosys' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including
its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, and its
subsequent filings on Form 6-K. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov. Infosys
does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements.

    Details of Press Conference

    Infosys will host a press conference on September 10, 2012 at 12:45 p.m. IST at the
Infosys Headquarters, Electronics City, Bangalore.

Infosys Ltd

CONTACT: Press Contacts: For more information, press only: Infosys Limited, Sukanya Ghosh, Phone +917829915577, Sukanya_ghosh02@infosys.com ; Lodestone Holding AG, Deborah Bucher, Phone +41 44 434 11 00 , media@lodestonemc.com

Title

Medium Image View Large