Infosys unveils big-bang acquisition

Infosys announced that it will acquire UK-based Axon Group Plc for £4.701mn (Rs33.1bn, US$753mn). The transfer of ownership is expected to be completed by November, subject to the Scheme of Arrangement becoming effective, Infosys said. Axon is a business transformation consultancy that designs, implements and supports SAP solutions for large organisations. For the year ended December 2007, Axon had reported a profit after tax of £20.2mn (Rs1.6bn, US$37.4mn). Revenues for the year 2007 stood at £204.5mn (Rs16.6bn, US$378.3mn). Axon has about 2,000 employees. It has offices in the UK, North America, Malaysia and Australia. Axon's market capitalization as of Friday was £323mn. Investors didn't show much enthusiasm due to concerns that a rival bid could emerge. The market also seemed to be worried about the high price paid by Infosys and whether it will value accretive for the company.