Cognizant plans sweat equity offer in 2000

BANGALORE: US-based software company Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (CTS), listed on the bourses of Nasdaq, has planned a sweat equity offer in the year 2000 for employees/engineers of its five subsidiaries across the world.

CTS (India) President Lakshmi Narayan said the forthcoming sweat equity allotment could be of the order of about two per cent of the holding company's stake. Currently, IMS Health Inc of the US holds 61 per cent of its stake, the employees hold nearly six per cent and remaining is held by the public. Though CTS has operations in the US, Canada, Germany and UK apart from India, the Indian arm alone develops the software for its worldwide clients.

With regard to the future plans of the company, Mr. Narayan said CTS would concentrate on Net-based solutions. He said further expansion in Calcutta would be by way of setting up another centre on a recently acquired a two-acre plot. The project is expected to be ready within the next 16 months. The company, as an extension of it operations, is planning collaborative training arrangements and joint solution projects with Jadavpur University and the Indian Statistical Institute. The company plans to set up a second development centre at Pune, which is scheduled to be operational within a year.