Bangalore-based ReIQ has over 700 employees spread across locations in India, the UK, US and France. The company’s clients are mainly drawn from the financial services, telecoms and consumer electronics industries and sales are forecast to hit $30m in its current fiscal year.
According to reports in the Indian press, EDS will pay approximately INR 1.8bn ($40.8m) for ReIQ. The deal is expected to close in May, with ReIQ being incorporated into EDS’ global testing operation.
ReIQ has been touted as a takeover target for the past six months, after a proposed deal with Cognizant fell through. Investment bank UBS was known to be working with ReIQ to find a suitable buyer.
The purchase comes less than a month after EDS’ chairman and CEO Mike Jordan announced that the company would spend between $1.5bn and $2bn on acquisitions annually over the next few years. Jordan said the company would be targeting growth in key verticals such as government, healthcare and financial services.
EDS currently employs approximately 27,000 staff in India, but is planning to increase this figure to 35,000 by the end of August. Last year, the company added about 11,000 staff in the region through the takeover of local IT services player Mphasis.
