Acquisitions make IBS stronger in TTL space

Acquisitions make IBS stronger in TTL space

Considers setting up three more campuses in Kerala

CMN Correspondent

Friday, June 20, 2008

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA: The Thiruvananthapuram Technopark-based IBS Software has launched itself into prominence among the corporates in India by effecting five takeovers in just six years.

VK Mathews, chairman and chief executive of the company, which has already carved a place in the global IT scene as solutions provider for global companies in the Travel, Transportation and Logistics (TTL) industry, said the acquisitions form part of its long term strategy of catapulting itself into leadership position among the TTL companies.

He said, “IBS looks at acquisitions in terms of product fit, complementing the solutions portfolio and integrating domain expertise.” He added that IBS may look at the next acquisition in a year from now.

While the company’ had in 2002 acquired TopAir from Switzerland-based Electronic Data Systems, it took over UK-based Avient Technologies from Honeywell International in September 2003. It then forayed into travel tour and cruise businesses in March 2006 with the acquisition of Discovery Travel Systems of the US.

IBS also bought out the Hotel Booking Solutions Inc, a US-based new generation technology provider to hotel chains and travel distributors soon after that.

This May, it effected its fifth buy out by acquiring VISaer, a US-based company which is into making software for aerospace maintenance and engineering.

The company, which had a CAGR of 47.5 per cent during the last 10 year period, had seen an 800-fold rise on capital investment in 1997. This is against a 35 times increase in employee recruitments during the period.

General Atlantic had invested $60 million in IBS last July, enabling the company to cruise through toward the next phase of growth, Mathews said. The company expects revenues to grow by 300 per cent by year 2010.

The company is expecting to see its employee strength also grow by around 250 per cent by that year.

As part of the expansion, IBS is also mulling over setting up new three fully owned campuses in the three cities of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.

©CyberMedia News